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PIRKE DE RABBI ELIEZER
pirk£ de
rabbi eliezer
(THE CHAPTERS OF RABBI ELIEZER THE GREAT)
ACCORDING TO THE TEXT OF THE MANUSCRIPT
BELONGING TO ABRAHAM EPSTEIN OF VIENNA
TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED
WITH INTRODUCTION AND INDICES
BY
GERALD FRIEDLANDER
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO. LTD.
New York: THE BLOCH PUBLISHING COMPANY
1916
Printed in Scotland
By Morrison & Gibb Limitsd
Edinburgh
TO
ADOLPH BUCKLER, Ph.D.
PRINCIPAL OF THE JEWS* COLLEGE, LONDON
PREFACE
My thanks are due to Dr. A. Marmorstein for much general
help in the course of my work. He has verified all the
Rabbinic quotations in the notes and has added many addi-
tional references. I have further to express my gratitude
to Dr. Biichler for valuable counsel in the preparation of the
translation and also for reading and correcting the proof-
sheets. I dedicate this book to him as a mark of gratitude
for a series of kindnesses shown to me during many years.
It is mainly owing to his inspiration and encouragement
that I have ventured to offer this effort as a contribution to
Jewish literature.
G. F.
GENERAL CONTENTS
Introduction
Abbreviations employed in Notes
CHAPTER
I. Rabbi Eliezer and the Torah .
II. Rabbi Eliezer and his Brethren
III. Premundane Creation, and the Work of
the First Day .
IV. The Creation on the Second Day
V. The Creation on the Third Day — The
Gathering of the Waters
VI. The Creation on the Fourth Day — The
Planets ; the Course of the Sun
VII. The Course of the Moon
VIII. The Principle of Intercalation
IX. The Creation on the Fifth Day
X. The History of Jonah
XI. The Work of Creation on the Sixth Day
XII. Adam in Paradise .
XIII. The Serpent in Paradise
XIV. The Sin of Adam and Eve
XV. The Two Ways
XVI. The Service of Loving-Kindness
XVII. Loving Service to Mourners .
XVIII. The Creation on the Eve of the First
Sabbath .
XIX. The Sabbath.
XX. Adam's Penitence .
XXI. Cain and Abel
XXII. The Fall of the Angels
XXIII. The Ark and the Flood
XXIV. NiMROD AND THE TOVVER OF BaBEL
XXV. The Sin of Sodom .
XXVI. The Ten Trials of Abraham (First Five)
XIU
lix
I
5
9
20
27
31
41
52
60
65
74
84
91
97
102
106
114
124
134
143
150
158
164
174
179
187
GENERAL CONTENTS
CHAPTER
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XXXIX.
XL.
XLI.
XLII,
XLIII.
XLIV.
XLV.
XLVI.
XLVII.
XLVIII.
XLIX.
L.
LI.
LII.
LIII,
PAGE
The Ten Trials of Abraham — continued
(Battle of the Kings) . . -193
The Ten Trials ok Abraham — continued
(The Vision between the Pieces) . . i97
The Ten Trials of Abraham — continued
(The Covenant of Circumcision) , . 203
The Ten Trials of Abraham — continued
(Abraham and Ishmael) . . .215
The Ten Trials of Abraham — continued (The
Binding of Isaac on the Altar) . . 223
The Death of Sarah and the Story of Isaac
and Rebecca . . . . -231
Elisha and the Shunammite Woman . . 239
The Resurrection of the Dead . . 252
The Vision of Jacob at Bethel . 261
Jacob and Laban ..... 268
Jacob and the Angel . . . .281
Joseph and his Brethren . . . 287
Joseph in Egypt ..... 303
Moses at the Burning Bush . . . 312
The Revelation on Sinai . . . 318
The Exodus ...... 328
The Power of Repentance . . . 337
Amalek and Israel . . . -345
The Golden Calf . . . . -352
Moses on the Mount .... 359
The Zeal of Phineas . . . .367
The Egyptian Bondage .... 374
The Seed of Amalek .... 388
Haman ...... 396
The New Heavens and Earth . . . ^lo
The Seven Wonders of Old . . . 420
The Sin of Slander .... 428
Note ....... 439
Index of Subjects and Names . . -441
Index of Old Testament Passages . 480
CONTENTS OF INTRODUCTION
PAGE
§ I. Short Account of the Book and its History . . xiii
§ 2. Plan and Contents of the Book . . . . xv
§ 3. P.R.E. IN Jewish and Christian Literature . . xviii
§4. P.R.E. AND Talmud, Targum, Midrash, Zohar, and
Liturgy ,..,... xix
§ 5. P.R.E. AND the Pseudepigraphic and Apocryphal
Literature ....... xxi
§ 6. P.R.E. and Patristic Literature .... liii
§ 7. Date and Origin of P.R.E. ..... liii
§ 8. Polemical Tendency in P.R.E. . . . . Iv
§ 9. Theology of P.R.E. . . . . . . Ivi
XI
INTRODUCTION
§ 1. Short Account of the Book and its History
The book usually designated iry^K 'm ""piD, PirM de
Rabbi Eliezer {Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer), is not the least
important of the Rabbinic Pseudepigrapha. The attention
recently given to the study of the Apocrypha and Pseud-
epigrapha has, to a certain extent, been limited by the neglect
of the Rabbinic side of the subject. The only Hebrew works
translated in the magnificent Oxford edition of the Apoc-
rypha and Pseudepigrapha are the PirM Aboth and the
Fragments of a Zadokite Work. The selection of these two
books is singularly unfortunate, since neither belongs to
the Pseudepigrapha proper. More appropriate would have
been the inclusion in the afore-mentioned corpus of such
works as the Othijoth de Rabbi 'Akiba or the PirM de
Rabbi Eliezer, now presented, for the first time, in an English
translation.
The name of the writer of the book is unknown. The
putative author is Rabbi Eliezer, son of Hyrkanos, who
lived in the latter half of the first century c.e. and in the
first decades of the second century. He was famous on
account of his great erudition, but in spite of his reputation
as a scholar he was ultimately excommunicated. Was it
on account of this very fact that the actual writer of our
book deliberately selected the name of this famous master
in Israel as its supposed author ? In many respects the
book is polemical and unorthodox — polemical in opposing
doctrines and traditions current in certain circles in former
times, unorthodox in revealing certain mysteries which were
reputed to have been taught in the school of Rabban
Jochanan ben Zakkai, the teacher of our Rabbi Eliezer.
Did our author deem it dangerous to expose his own identity ?
Did he not run the risk of being placed under the ban for the
XIU
xiv INTRODUCTION
daring displayed in writing his book ? What name was
more honoured, in spite of the excommunication which had
made it so prominent, than Rabbi EUezer the Great, who is
quoted in Mishnah and Talmud more frequently than any
one of his contemporaries ?
The book enjoyed considerable popularity in Jewish
circles in former days, for there are more than two dozen
editions. There is also a Latin version with an elaborate
commentary by Vorstius (1644), indicating a certain interest
in the book even in non- Jewish circles. The first edition
was printed in Constantinople in 1514, the second edition
appeared in Venice, 1544, the third edition was published in
Sabbioneta in 1567. Later editions of value are those of
Amsterdam and Prague. The folio edition of Rabbi
David Luria (Vilna, 1837) is the best extant. His critical
commentary is a mine of valuable information which has
been constantly laid under contribution in the preparation
of the notes in the present volume. The editions of Erode
and Einhorn have also been consulted.
The text adopted for translation is a valuable unedited
MS. belonging to Abraham Epstein of Vienna. This treasure
contains not only the entire work as printed in the various
editions, but a small section of the last chapter which has
never been printed. Wertheimer's Botte Midrashoth, iii. pp.
29-34, contains a parallel text to the last chapter, but not as
complete as our MS. text. The MS. is probably the work of
a Spanish scribe of the twelfth or thirteenth century. It was
formerly the property of N. Coronel. In very many instances
the text preserved in the MS. is superior to that contained in
the printed editions. The MS. used by the editor of the editio
princeps was fairly accurate, as this text is on the whole
correct and consecutive. This edition was used by the
editor of the beautiful second edition, in which some of the
errors incidental to a first edition have been rectified. This
text has been used by all subsequent editors and was adopted
by Vorstius for his Latin version.
In addition to Epstein's MS., the present writer has used
an old MS. fragment of the astronomical chapters (VI. -VIII.)
belonging to the Rev. Dr. M. Gaster, and also his MS. (9),
which, however, is incomplete. Several fragments from
the Cairo Geni?ah belonging to Mr. Elkan N. Adler, M.A.,
INTRODUCTION xv
have been collated. The Geni?ah fragments belonging to the
Cambridge University have been copied by Dr. A. Mar-
morstein and his transcript has been used. The MSS. of the
Bodleian Library, Oxford, have also been collated. The
fragment MS. in the British Museum, edited by Horowitz,
has likewise been consulted.
In the printed texts there are fifty-four chapters, where-
as in our MS. there are only fifty-three chapters, due to the
fact that the last two are combined into one. In its present
form the book is undoubtedly incomplete. In all the editions
the last chapter breaks off in the middle of a sentence. The
MSS. referred to in the Jewish Encyclopedia (x. p. 59b) have
not been available.
§ 2. Plan and Contents of the Book
The book, as we now know it, is, in all probability, a
composite work, consisting of three originally distinct
sections. The object of one of these parts was to describe
in detail the " ten descents " from heaven to earth, which
God is said in Holy Scripture to have made in the past.
The books of old told of the Ascension of Isaiah, as well as
of the Assumption of Moses and other worthies ; our book
essayed the more sacred task of revealing the ten Divine
descents on earth. The purpose of the Pistis Sophia is
somewhat similar, of course from the standpoint of the
Christian gnostic. The last chapter in our book deals with
the eighth descent. The missing part of the work is claimed
to be preserved in the text published by M. Friedmann in
the Pseudo-Tanna de hi Elijahu. The authenticity of this
material has, however, not been established thus far.
Another section incorporated in our present work pro-
fessed to give a detailed account of Rabbinic mysticism,
more particularly the ancient mysteries of the Creation
(Ma'aseh Bereshith), the Divine Chariot (Ma'aseh Merkabah),
as well as the secret of the Calendar (Sod Ha-'Ibbur) and
the secret of the Redemption (Sod Ge'ullah). The mys-
teries of the heaven above, the earth beneath, and the
waters under the earth are all revealed. Paradise and
Gehenna, this world and the new world, are all explored.
We hear of the Ministering Angels, Sammael and the angels
xvi INTRODUCTION
" who fell from their holy place in heaven," and also con-
cerning Leviathan and Behemoth. The life hereafter, the
resurrection of the dead, and the Messianic Age are dis-
cussed. The doctrine of the " Last Things," usually known
as Eschatology, is not entirely forgotten.
The possibility of a third book in our work is to be
detected in the fragment of a Midrash on the Shemoneh 'Esreh
(the Jewish prayer par excellence), which is contained in
the latter part of the " Chapters." AVhcther the three
chapters (VI.-VIII.) dealing with the Calendar are an
integral part of the section previously discussed or whether
they belong to the actual Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer is a moot
point, which cannot be decided off-hand. The result of the
combination of the different sections may be seen in the
repetition of several narratives {e.g. the creation of Adam),
in obvious contradictions {e.g. Chapter III. and Chapter
XVIII. ; Chapter XXX. and Chapter XXXI., on the
question of the difference between the ages of Isaac and
Ishmael), and finally in the absence of consecutive order
in the arrangement of the material. Likewise the order
in which the different chapters are arranged is a further
proof of the composite nature of the entire book. More-
over, the first two chapters form an independent section
which has been prefixed for the purpose of providing a
preface in order to justify the authorship attributed to
Rabbi Eliezer. The two chapters are entirely biographical,
setting forth the call of Rabbi Eliezer. Our contention
as to the relation of these two chapters towards the rest of
the book, as we now know it, seems to be supported by the
fact that the MS. of the first part of our book in the British
Museum begins at Chapter III. of the printed text. The
same fact applies to the portion of our book which has
been incorporated by R. Asher JIa-Levi in his Sepher Ua-
Zikhronoth (Bodleian MS. Heb. d. 11, No. 2797). Dr.
Marmorstcin finds in MS. Adler (522, p. 143b), Chajiter XLIV.
quoted. This corresponds to Chapter XLII. in the printed
texts. Again, on p. 79a, Chapter XLI. is mentioned, corre-
sponding to Chapter XXXIX. in our text. In Gaster MS.
(9) ten anciently written chapters have been inserted which
are all enumerated as though the book began with Chapter
III. This clearly shows that in some MSS. the first two
INTRODUCTION xvii
chapters were missing, and, as we have suggested, did not
form part of the original work.
Chapters III.-XI. deal with the work of the Creation.
Chapters XII.-XX. refer to Adam and Eve.
Chapters XXI. and XXII. give the story of Cain, Abel,
and the other descendants of Adam and Eve.
Chapters XXIII. and XXIV. contain the history of Noah
and his sons and the narrative of the Flood.
Chapter XXV. sets forth the sin and doom of Sodom.
Chapters XXVI.-XXXI. cover the life story of Abraham,
including the story of the 'Ak:edah (or the binding
of Isaac).
Chapters XXXII. and XXXIII. deal with the life of
Isaac.
Chapter XXXIV. is devoted to an account of the resur-
rection of the dead.
Chapters XXXV.-XXXVII. present the story of Jacob's
life.
Chapters XXXVIII. and XXXIX. refer to Joseph.
Chapter XL. discusses the signs given by God to Moses.
Chapter XLI. is concerned with the revelation on Sinai.
Chapters XLII. and XLIII. (which are evidently out of
place) contain the narrative of the Exodus (which
should precede the story of the revelation on Sinai).
Chapter XLIV. unfolds the history of Amalek.
Chapters XLV.-XLVII. set forth the story of the
Golden Calf.
Chapter XLVIII. resumes the subject of the Exodus.
Chapters XLIX. and L. give the story of Haman and
Mordecai.
Chapter LI. is eschatological.
Chapter LII. describes the wonders of old.
Chapter LIII. reverts to the history of Israel in the
wilderness, e.g. the " Brazen " Serpent and
Miriam.
In the second half of the book we see the fragment of
the Midrash on the Shemoneh 'Esreh, furnishing a series
of links connecting the various sections of this part
of the book. Thus the first benediction is referred to
in Chapter XXVII. in connection with Abraham. The
second benediction occurs in Chapters XXXI. and XXXIV.,
xviii INTRODUCTION
in connection with Isaac. The third in Chapter XXXV,
(Jacob), the fourth in Chapter XL. (Moses), the fifth in
Chapter XLIII. in connection with Manasseh and Nineveh,
the sixth in Chapter XLVI. in connection with Israel in
the wilderness, the seventh in Chapter LI. (Messianic), and
the eighth in Chapters LII. and LIII. (Miriam). The fact
that only eight descents and only eight benedictions are
dealt with in the book is noteworthy, and points to the
present incomplete condition of the work.
§ 3. Our Book in Jewish and Christian Literature
The book is usually known by the title Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer. Our MS. uses this designation, adding " Ha-Gadol "
(" the Great "). The first to quote our book are the Geonim
or Rabbis of Babylon, see Siddur of Rab 'Amram (c. 850 c.e.),
p. 32a. Mach?;or Vitry (ed. S. Hurwitz), p. 117, quotes our
book by the title " Perakim " ("The Chapters "). In the
Tosaphoth to Kethuboth, 99a, R. Tarn calls it " Haggadath
de Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanos." The 'Arukh terms it
" Baraitha de Rabbi Eliezer." Dr. Marmorstein finds our
book mentioned in Midrash Ha-Chefez (B.M. 2351, p. 89b)
under the title of " Mishnah de R. Eliezer"; the same
designation occurs in a bookseller's catalogue of the twelfth
to thirteenth century, see J.Q.R. xiii. p. 53.
The usual title PirkS de Rabbi Eliezer is employed by
Rashi {e.g. on Gen. xxvii. 9 ; Deut. xii. 17 ; Jonah i. 7),
Jehudah Ha-Levi (Khazari iii. 65 and iv. 29), and Mai-
monides (Moreh Nebukhim i. 70 and ii. 26). For further
references see the excellent chapter on our book in Zunz,
Gottesdienstliche Vortrdge der Juden (2nd ed.), p. 283, note/.
In addition to the writers and books mentioned in
the previous paragraphs, quotations from our book are to
be found in R. Achai Gaon in She'eltoth, in Natronai Gaon in
Chcmdah Genu?ah No. 93, in R. Moses of Coucy's S.M.G., in
Halakhoth Gedoloth (ed. Hildcshcimcr, p. 5), in Midrash
Haggadol (ed. Schechter), Midrash Agadah (ed. Buber),
Jalkut Shim'oni, Jalkut Makhiri, Midrash Sekhel Tob (ed.
Buber), also in the commentaries on the Pentateuch by
R. Bcchai and Nachmanides, as well as in the latter's Torath
Ha-x\dam, and many other books too numerous to mention.
INTRODUCTION xix
In addition to the bibliography to be found in the Jewish
Encyclopedia (x. p. 60a) and in Wolff, Bibl. Hebr. i. p. 173,
iii. p. 110, and iv. p. 1032, the follo^ving references have been
furnished by Dr. Marmorstein :
Zakuto, Juchasin, p. 52b (the first to cast a doubt on
the authorship of R. Eliezer).
'Azariah de Rossi, Meor 'Enayim, ch. xliii.
Rapoport, in Kerem Chemed, vii. p. 41.
Steinschneider, Polemische und Apologetische Literatur,
p. 339 ; Z.D.M.G. xxviii. 640 ; H.B. v. 15 and
120, viii. 7, and ix. 3.
The periodicals Keneseth Ha-Gedolah, i. 165 ; Ha-Maggid,
xii. nos. 26 ff.; R.E.J, iiv. 66; M.G.W.J., 1893,
p. 253 ; J.Q.R. iv. 622, and J.Q.R. (new series)
i. pp. 64 f.
Graetz, M.G.W.J., 1859, p. 207 ; H.B. xiv. 7 ; Geschichte,
iv. p. 223 ; and Z.D.M.G. xxviii. 645.
Epstein, Eldad, p. 76; and
Chwolson, Ssabier, i. p. 98.
§ 4. P.R.E. AND Talmud, Targum, Midrash, Zohar,
AND Liturgy
The fact that with two exceptions all the names of the
Rabbis quoted in our book are Palestinian teachers has been
duly noted by scholars, see J.E. x. p. 59a. Equally remark-
able is the fact that the direct quotations from the Talmud
are to be found in the Palestinian Talmud only. The
inference to be drawn from this circumstance is that the
author was probably a Palestinian. Again, there is a very
close connection between the Palestinian Targum to the
Pentateuch, usually known as the Pseudo-Jonathan ben
U^jiel, and our author.
The present writer inclines to the view that our book
was one of the sources used by this Targumist. There is also
evidence which goes to show that the author of the Second
Targum to Esther used our book. Likewise there is reason
to believe that the Zohar has used many of the interpreta-
tions and doctrines which are to be found in our work.
In all probability a similar statement applies to the Book
of Jashar.
XX INTRODUCTION
On the other hand, our author has laid Genesis Rabbah
under contribution. In the notes attention will be drawn
to some of the parallels to be found in Talmudic and
Midrashic literature.
The question of interdependence arises in connection
with the Baraitha de Sh'muel. The date 776 c.e. is mentioned
in this work, and shortly after this date the work was
most probably written. Have we, however, the original
Baraitha ? Was our book used by the writer of this
Baraitha ? Were the two works originally united in one
book ? Are we to believe, as Dr. Gaster seems to urge in
his valuable Introduction to Jerahmeel, that the three astro-
nomical chapters (VI.-VIIL)are part of the original Baraitha'i
These problems must remain for the present unsolved. The
views of Zunz on this question will be referred to in the notes.
On the entire problem Bornstein's note on pp. 177 f. in
Sokolow's Jubilee Volume (1904) should be consulted. A
similar unsolved problem arises in connection with the
Sepher Jezirah ; some of the points of contact between this
book and P.R.E. will be mentioned in the notes.
Many of the Midrashic explanations and legends con-
tained in our book have been utilized by the Payetanim
(liturgical poets) whose poems have enriched the liturgy
of the Synagogue. The commentary to the Machzor by
Heidenheim draws attention to many parallels in our book.
Recent investigation has proved that the date hitherto
assigned to Kalir must be altered to an earlier period (c.
seventh century). According to Zunz, G.V. (p. 290) Kalir
used P.R.E. in his liturgical compositions, and if this be so,
he must have had an earlier form of our book than has come
down to us.
The Jozeroth as well as the daily and Sabbath liturgy
of the Synagogue point to the direct influence exerted by
our book. One instance will illustrate this point. The
Kedushah of the Mussaph for Sabbath and Holyday is to
be found in its earliest form in our book (see p. 26 and
cf. M.G.IV.J., 1887, pp. 550 If.). Does this fact enable us
to determine the provenance of our " Chapters " ? Dr.
Biichler has pointed out to the present writer that the
phrase on p. 169, " Through me will all the righteous crown
Thee with a crown of sovereignty," shows that the author
INTRODUCTION xxi
knew the special form of the Kediishah of the mystics
known as the " Jorede Merkabah," discussed by P. Bloch
in M.G.W.J., 1893 (37), p. 310, and by Dr. Biichler in R.^.J.
liii. p. 220.
In connection with this subject, it is interesting to note
that the tenth chapter seems to be a homily for the Day
of Atonement. According to Horowitz, Beth 'Eked Ha-
Hagadoth, p. 21, Chapter XXX., which has been incorporated
in the Midrash of the Ten Kings, was also written for litur-
gical purposes, probably as a Midrash for the Sabbath pre-
ceding the 9th of Ab. Possibly Chapters XXV. and XXVI.
were homilies for the New Year. The sections from Chapters
III., IV., v., VI., IX., and XI. dealing with the Creation and
Adam, which are preserved in the B.M. MS. 27089 and
printed by Horowitz, Sammlung kleiner Midraschim, i. pp.
4 ff., may have served a liturgical purpose in connection
with the New Year, because according to our author Adam
was created on the New Year. Similar Midrashic sections
are — (1) Chapter XLII., for Sabbath Shirah or for the seventh
Day of Passover ; (2) Chapter XLI., for Pentecost ; (3)
Chapter IV., dealing with the Cherubim and the Divine
Throne for Pentecost (the Haphtarah being Ezek. i.) ; and
(4) Chapter XXXIII., for the Intermediate Sabbath in
Passover (the Haphtarah being Ezek. xxxvii.). Several
chapters are also to be regarded as Midrashim to the weekly
Portion (Sedra). Finally, Chapter XLIV. and Chapter
XLIX. are probably Midrashim for Sabbath Zakhor, whilst
Chapter L. is a Midrashic reading for Purim. Chapter
XXXI., which deals with the 'Akedah, may have been a
homily for the New Year or for Sabbath Vayera. Chapter
XXXIII. was most likely the Midrash to the Haphtarah
for Sabbath Vayera.
§ 5. P.R.E. AND THE PSEUDEPIGRAPHA AND APOCRYPHA
Among the most valuable writings in the second volume
of the Oxford edition of the Apocrypha and Pseudepi-
grapha are Jubilees, the two Books of Enoch, the Testa-
ments of the XII Patriarchs, 4 Ezra, and the Books of
Adam and Eve. With all these books there are points of
contact in the Pirki de R. Eliezer. For instance, the
xxii INTRODUCTION
Biblical narrative covered by our book agrees to a consider-
able extent with the material dealt with by the Book of
Jubilees. We shall find frequent occasion in the notes to
refer not only to the points of similarity between the two
works, but also to several points of dissimilarity. There
seems to be reasonable ground for assuming that the author
of our book was acquainted not only with Jubilees, but also
with the pseudepigraphic Books of Enoch (Ethiopic and
Slavonic), and very probably with the Testaments of the
XII Patriarchs, or with the sources of these books.
Jubilees and our book are alike in being practically
Midrashic paraphrases and expansions of the narratives
contained in the Book of Genesis and part of the Book
of Exodus. Our book contains more than this, but it is
a later compilation. Both books deal with the Calendar
(see Jubilees vi. 28-33), and in this respect they recall the
Books of Enoch (Eth. Enoch Ixxii.-lxxxii.). In all these
books we have chapters setting forth the story of the Creation
(Ma'aseh Bereshith). The mysteries and secrets con-
tained in some of the above-mentioned books of the Pseud-
epigrapha reappear in our book. The past is recalled and
the future revealed. The nature of God, angels, and man is
unfolded. We read of sin and grace, repentance and atone-
ment, good and evil, life and death. Paradise and Gehenna,
Satan and Messiah. The same anthropomorphic expres-
sions occur in all this literature and reappear in our book.
The Index will enable the reader to find easily in our book
its teaching on all these points.
Our book does not merely re-echo the esoteric doctrines
of Apocalypse, it occasionally dares to speak with its own
voice and at times deliberately modifies the teaching of the
old Pseudepigrapha. For instance, the Calendar doctrines
set forth in Jubilees and part of the Enoch literature are
rejected and opposed. The Calendar section in our book
is of more than passing interest, because it may indicate —
(1) The probable date when our book was written, (2) its
provenance, and (3) the motive for its composition. Accord-
ing to S. Poznanski (Hastings' Ency. of Religion and Ethics,
iii. 117) the probable date is in the period of the Geonim
(c. 800), its origin was in Babylon, and the i)urposc of the
book was to oppose factions or sects who at this period had
INTRODUCTION xxiii
their individual calendars. Reference should be made to
the J.Q.R. X. 152-161 for the discussion on the Calendar
disputes in the days of Sa'adiah (892-942), see also J.Q.R.
xiv. pp. 37 ff. and (new series) v. 4, pp. 543 ff.
The various forms of the Calendar, which were probably
the occasion of attack or defence, e.g. the systems set forth
in Jubilees and the Books of Enoch, as well as the calendars
of the Samaritans and Karaites, and the systems elaborated
in the Rabbinic and Patristic literature and also in the
Hellenistic Jewish writings, would have to be carefully
considered before we can be in a position to formulate the
purpose of the Calendar in our book.
To revert to the Book of Jubilees in relation to our book,
the following passages in the former seem to have some
connection with our text.
Jub. i. 29 refers to the renewal of the heavens and the
earth (cf. ibid. iv. 26 and xxiii. 26-28, and Charles' note on
p. 10 of his edition of Jubilees) ; Chapter LI. (pp. 410 ff.)
in our book is devoted to this theme.
In Jub. i. and ii. reference is made to the intercourse
between Moses and the angels ; the same subject reappears
in our book (Chapter XLVI. pp. 361 f.), where we also read
of " letters and tablets for heahng " (p. 362) given to Moses
by the angels, this is similar to Jub. x. 12, 13.
According to Jub. ii. 17-21, when the Israehtes observe
the Sabbath, they resemble the angels ; this belief reappears
in our book (Chapter XLVI. p. 364), except for the fact that
Sabbath is replaced by the Day of Atonement {i.e. the
Sabbath of Sabbaths).
Very striking is the passage in Jub. ii. dealing with
the selection of Israel to keep the Sabbath and the nature
of the Sabbath observance, " eating, drinking, and blessing
God " (ii. 21). This must be compared with P.R.E. xix.
p. 138 : " The Holy One, blessed be He, blessed and hallowed
the Sabbath day, and Israel is bound only to keep and to
hallow the Sabbath day. . . . Whosoever says the bene-
diction and sanctification over the wine on the eves of
Sabbaths." Jub. ii. 29, 30, should also be compared with
P.R.E. , loc. cit.
Both books protest against the exposure of the person ;
thus in Jub. iii. 31 and vii. 20 this ordinance is laid down in
xxiv INTRODUCTION
connection with Noah, whilst in our book, xxii. p. IGO, this
sin is one of the causes of the Hood.
The offering brought by Noah, according to Jub. vi. 3,
consisted of an ox, a goat, a sheep, kids, salt, a turtle-dove,
and the young of a dove ; in our book, xxiii. p. 171, this
reappears as " ox, a sheep, a turtle-dove, and pigeons."
Jub. vi. 17 f. lays great stress on the importance of the
festival of Pentecost, even attributing its institution to
Noah and the patriarchs ; our book varies this by connecting
the institution of Passover with Adam and the patriarchs
(pp. 153, 236).
Jub. vi. 23-29 dwells on the importance of the New
Moon; this occurs also in our book, p. 410.
Jub. vii. 2, 35 ff., xvi. 20-31, and xxi. 7-17 refers to
the age of the patriarchs various laws other than the seven
precepts of the sons of Noah. This tendency is followed
by our book, which mentions Sha'atne? (p. 154; see Lev.
xix. 19), Sabbath (p. 142), Habdalah (pp. 145 f.), and the
wedding benediction (pp. 89 f.) in connection with the life of
Adam.
Noah divides the earth among his three sons (Jub. viii.
11). Dr. Charles {in loc.) refers to Beer, who quotes P.R.E.
xxiv. The actual text in Jub. viii. 11-30 should be compared
with the last paragraph in P.R.E. xxiii. (pp. 172 f.), which
might reasonably be looked upon as a condensed version of the
twenty verses in Jubilees. Thus the first sentence in P.R.E.
{loc. cit.) reads : " Noah brought his sons and his grandsons,
and he blessed them with their (several) settlements, and
he gave them as an inheritance all the earth." Jubilees
(viii. 11) reads : " And he called his sons, and they drew
nigh to him, they and their children, and he divided the
earth into the lots, which his three sons were to take in
possession." Shem receives according to Jubilees (viii. 12)
" the middle of the earth," and according to P.R.E. {loc.
cit.) he inherits " the habitable land." Ham receives
" beyond the Gihon . . . and it extends towards the west
to the sea of 'Atel, and it extends . . . till it reaches the
sea of Ma'uk " (Jub. viii. 22). Dr. Charles {in loc.) thinks
that Ma'uk is a distortion of 'fiKcavos, the great ocean
stream. P.R.E. {loc. cit.) reads : " He blessed Ham and his
sons . . . and he gave them as an inheritance the coast of
INTRODUCTION xxv
the sea." Japhet's portion is Northern Asia, Europe, and
five great islands (Jub. viii. 25-29a) ; and according to P.R.E.
(loc. cit.) he receives " for an inheritance the desert and its
fields."
Both books agree (Jub. xii. 26, P.R.E. p. 188) in saying
that Abraham spoke Hebrew, the holy language of the
Creation. In both books Satan (or Sammael in P.R.E.,
Mastema in Jubilees) plays a striking part, he is a chief or
prince (see Jub. xvii. 16 and xlviii. 2, and P.R.E. p. 92).
Jub. X. 11 identifies Satan and Mastema; a parallel to this
section of Jubilees (x. 8-11) is to be found in our book
(p. 363 f.). According to Jub. iii. 17 the serpent alone was
the cause of the fall of Eve ; our author (p. 92), following
other legends, describes Sammael as using the serpent in his
plot against Eve. In Jub. xviii. 9, 12, Mastema is put to
shame at the sacrifice of Isaac ; this legend reappears in
P.R.E. (pp. 228, 233 f.), according to which Sammael attempts
to hinder Abraham.
The fundamental importance of circumcision is insisted
upon in both books (Jub. xv. 11 ff. and P.R.E. xxix.), and
they both refer to the serious neglect of the rite (Jub. xv.
33 f. and P.R.E. pp. 212 ff.). According to Jub. xv. 30-32
and P.R.E. p. 177, Israel alone is subject to God, whilst
the nations of the world are subject to the dominion of the
angels. Both books, Jub. xvii. 17 and P.R.E. pp. 187 ff.,
refer to the ten trials of Abraham. Again, both books
(.lub. xxi. 17 ; P.R.E. pp. 61, 212) lay stress on the duty of
covering the blood with dust. They also agree (Jub. xxii.
16; P.R.E. pp. 208, 301) in ordaining restrictions as to
the food of non-Jews. Isaac's oath to the Philistines
(Jub. xxiv. 25, 33) reappears in our book, pp. 278 f. Jub. xxxii.
2 f. has a close parallel in our book (p. 284), about the
story of the choice of Levi as the tithe devoted to God.
There is considerable agreement in both books on
Angelology and Demonology. Both books teach the
eternal validity of the Law, older than creation and coming
from the custody of the angels in heaven.
On the other hand, there are many divergent teachings.
We have already referred to the Calendar. According to
Jub. i. 27 (see Charles' ed. p. Ixiv f.) an angel reveals the
Law to Moses ; our author (p. 320) opposes this doctrine,
xxvi INTRODUCTION
which was taught in Hellenistic Jewish and Christian circles
(see LXX to Deut. xxxiii. 2 and Acts of the Apostles vii.
53, and cf. Josephus quoted in the Westminster N.T. ed.
of Acts, loc. cit.). In P.R.E. {loc. cit. and pp. 324 f. and 327)
God alone gives the Law, although myriads of ministering
angels are present. Jub. ii. 2-3 fixes the first day for the
creation of the angels, our book (p. 20) gives the second day.
Aecordinjj to Jub. ii. 7 the "arden of Eden was created on
the third day, whereas in our book (p. 11) it belongs to the
premundane creation. Jub. iv. 15, 22, identifies the angels
of the Lord who descended on the earth with the Watchers
who sinned with the daughters of men. This interpretation
of the " sons of Elohim " is accepted by our author (p. 160),
who qualifies it by adding that the Israelites are also called
"sons of God" (p. 161). Dr. Charles {Jubilees, pp. 33 ff.,
note 14) refers to the Christian interpretation of " the sons
of God " as indicating " the good among mankind, the
descendants of Seth, and the daughters of men to be the
descendants of Cain." Our author (p. 158 f.) tells us that,
" all the generations of the righteous arose from Seth,"
whereas " from Cain arose and were descended all the
generations of the wicked." Jub. v. 7 teaches that the
sons of the angels who rebelled against God slew one another
with the sword, but our author (p. 162) varies this by letting
them perish in the flood. In Jub. xii. 14, Haran, the brother
of Abraham, is burnt in the fire, whereas according to our
book (p. 188) it is Abraham who is cast into the fire and
rescued by Divine interposition.
In Jub. xix. 11 the marriage of Abraham \vith Keturah
is spoken of as his third marriage, " for Hagar had died
before Sarah "; this is contradicted by our author (p. 219),
who identifies Keturah and Hagar. Jub. xxx. 2 ff. gives
the praise of Simeon and Levi in connection with the
punishment which they inflicted upon Shechem; this is
omitted in our book (pp. 288 f.), which speaks of Jacob
cursing the wrath of his sons, " and he also cursed their
sword in the Greek language " ; Jubilees (xxx. 25) adds,
" And he reproached them because they had put the city
to the sword and he feared those who dwelt in the land."
In Jub. xxxiv. 12, 18 f., the institution of the Day of Atone-
ment is connected with the sale of Joseph ; this view is
INTRODUCTION xxvii
controverted by our book (p. 204) by associating the Day
with Abraham. In Jub. xxxviii. 2, Jacob is represented
as slaying Esati; our author (p. 309) varies this tradition
by referring the incident to the action of Chushim, the
son of Dan, a deaf mute, on the occasion of the burial of
Jacob. Jub. xl. 10 rejects the legend which formed the
basis of the Hellenistic Jewish romance dealing with the
history of Asenath (see Hastings' Bible Diet. i. 162), accord-
ing to which Asenath was of the house of Israel ; our
book (pp. 272 f,, 287 f.) adopts this legend, and states that
she was the daughter of Dinah. Our book differs from Jubilees
by omitting the sins of Reuben and Judah and by enun-
ciating the doctrine of the resurrection. There are many
other points of connection between the two books, some
of which will be indicated in the notes.
The most valuable contribution to the study of Jubilees
in its relation to the Midrashim is B. Beer's Das Bueh der
Juhilaen (1856). This was amplified by a second essay
by the same author. These important pioneer works are
indispensable. Dr. Marmorstein has a chapter on " Jubilees
and Pal. Targum " in his Studien zum Pseud-Jonathan
Targum (1905), pp. 22-26. Dr. Kohler's article on Jubilees
in J.E. vii. pp. 301 ff. should also be consulted in this
connection.
Ethiopic Enoch, usually known as 1 Enoch, also contains
many ideas which seem to be repeated or reflected in our
book. The notes contain the references to many of these
similar thoughts. Some of the most interesting points
of contact are the following :
1 Enoch vi. 2 : " The angels " are " the children of heaven " ;
cf. P.E.E. p. 161 : " Whilst they (the angels) were still
in their holy place in heaven, these were called the sons
of God."
— vi. 4 : " Let us all swear an oath and all bind ourselves
by mutual imprecations," cf. P.E.E. (p. 293), which
reads : " Let us swear among ourselves . . . and
they proclaimed the ban " (mn).
— vii. 1-5 : " And all the others together with them took
unto themselves wives . . . and they began to go
in unto them . . . and they bare great giants . . .
xxviii INTRODUCTION
who consumed nil the acquisitions of men. The
giants turned against them and devoured mankind
. . . and drunk the blood." Cf. P.R.E. (pp. 160 f.) :
" The angels . . , took wives from amongst them
. . . from them were born the giants . . . who
stretched forth their hands to all (kinds of) robbery
and violence, and shedding of blood."
1 Enoch viii. 1,2: " And the beautifying of the eyelids . . .
and they committed fornication, and they were led
astray"; cf. P.R.E. (p. 160): "their eyes painted
like harlots, and they went astray after them."
— ix. 1 : " Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel " ; cf. P.R.E.
(p. 22) : " Michael . . . Gabriel . . . Uriel . . .
and Raphael."
— ix. 1, 2 and x. 2 : " Much blood being shed upon the earth,
and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. . . .
The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice
of their crying up to the gates of heaven . . . and
a deluge is about to come " ; cf. P.R.E., loc. cit. and
also p. 162 : " Behold, we will restrain ourselves
from multiplying and increasing, so as not to produce
the offspring of the children of men. . . . They said.
If He bring from heaven the waters of the flood."
— X. 4 : " Bind Azazel . . . and make an opening in the
desert . . . and cast him therein " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 363 :
" and the lot for Azazel was the goat as a sin offering "
(cf. Charles' note on p. 22 of Jubilees).
— xii. 4 (and cf. xv. 3) : " The Watchers of the heaven who
have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place " ;
cf. P.R.E. p. 160 : " The angels who fell from their
holy place in heaven," cf. ibid. pp. 46, 92, and 194.
— xiv. 9 ff. : " Crystals . . . and fiery cherubim between
them, (that house) was hot as fire and cold as ice . . .
fear covered me and tremblings gat hold upon me . . .
and I looked and saw therein a lofty throne, its
appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as
the shining sun, and there was the vision of the
Cherubim, And from underneath the throne came
streams of flaming fire so that I could not look
thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon. None
of the angels could enter and could behold His
INTRODUCTION xxix
face. . . . The flaming fire was round about Him . . .
ten thousand times ten thousand (angels stood) before
Him." Cf. P.R.E., Chapter IV. (pp. 21-25), where
we read of the " crystal . . . and the fiery minister-
ing angels and the Shekhinah of the Holy One . . .
sitting on a throne high and exalted. The appearance
of His Glory is like the colour of amber (or crystal). One
half (of His Glory) is fire and the other half is hail . . .
and a veil is spread before Him, and the seven
angels . . . minister before Him. . . . Fire is flashing
continually around His throne, and the Chajjoth
(around the throne) . . . are the Cherubim . . . the
whirling wheels of the Chariot, lightnings ... go
forth. . . . The Chajjoth ... do not know the
place of His Glory ... a river of fire arises and goes
forth before Him. . . . The Seraphim . . . cover
their face so as not to behold the presence of the
Shekhinah."
1 Enoch xvii. 5 refers to the river of fire, cf. P.R.E. pp. 25
and 412.
— xviii. 2: "And I saw the Corner Stone of the Earth,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 71 : " and he saw there the Foundation
Stone," and cf. ibid. p. 266.
— xviii. 5 : " The firmament of the heaven above," cf.
P.R.E. p. 21 : " The firmament which is above the
head of the four Chajjoth."
— xviii. 8 : " And the summit of the throne was of sapphire,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 23 : " And the likeness of His throne
is like a sapphire throne." ^
— XX. 2-8 : here the Seven Archangels are mentioned ;
P.R.E. p. 23 refers to " the seven angels, which were
created first, (who) minister before God." Four of these
seven angels mentioned in 1 Enoch are Uriel, Raphael,
Michael, and Gabriel ; these four names occur also in
P.R.E. p. 22 ; cf. also 1 Enoch xl. 9.
— XXV, 5 : " Its fruit shall be good for the elect : it shall
be transplanted to the holy place, to the temple of
the Lord," cf. P.R.E. p. 418 f.
— XXV. 6 : " And they shall live a long life on earth . . .
and in their days shall no sorrow or plague or torment
1 Cf. Ezek. i. 26.
XXX INTRODUCTION
or calamity touch them " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 411 f. and
418, for a similar expression and idea.
1 Enoch xxvi. 1 : " The middle of the earth," cf. P.R.E. p. 266,
for parallel expression.
— xxxii. 1 : Seven mountains are referred to, cf. P.R.E. p. 71.
— xxxiii. 2 : " The ends of the earth whereon the heavens
rest," cf. P.R.E. p. 16.
— xxxiv. 3 : The north is described, cf. P.R.E. p. 17.
— xxxvi. 1 : " I went to the south to the ends of the earth
. . . and thence there come dew, rain, and wind";
P.R.E. p. 17 reads : " From the quarter facing south
the dews of blessing and the rains of blessing go
forth to the world."
— xxxvi. 4 : " That they might praise His work," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 8 f.
— xxxvii. 2 : "It had been good for them if they had not
been born," cf. P.R.E. pp. 104 f.
— xxxvii. 4 : " Has caused His light to appear on the face
of the holy," cf. P.R.E. p. 7.
— xxxix. 7 : " And all the righteous . . . shall be strong
as fiery lights," cf. P.R.E. p. 21.
— xxxix. 11 : " He knows before the world was created
what is for ever," cf. P.R.E. p. 11.
Cf. 1 Enoch xxxix. 12-13 and P.R.E. p. 26, on the trisagion.
1 Enoch xl. 1 : " And on the four sides of the Lord of Spirits
I saw four presences," cf. P.R.E. pp. 22 f.
— xli. 7 : " The one (sun) holding a position opposite to the
other," cf. P.R.E. p. 44.
— xlv. 4, 5 : "I will transform the heaven . . . and I will
transform the earth," cf. P.R.E. pp. 410 ff.
— xlvii. 3 : " The books of the living," of. P.R.E. p. 104
(note 6).
— xlviii. 3: " Yea before the sun . . . his name was named,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 12 and 233.
— li. 1 : " The earth shall give back that which has been
entrusted to it," cf. P.R.E. pp. 258 and 335.
— lii. 7 : " None shall be saved, either by gold or by silver,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 256 f.
— liv. 6 : " And cast them into the burning furnace,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 103.
— liv. 8 : " The waters shall be joined with the waters, that
INTRODUCTION xxxi
which is above the heavens is the mascuhne and
the water which is beneath the earth is the feminine,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 167.
1 Enoch Iv. 2 : " This shall be a pledge of good faith between
Me and them for ever as long as heaven is above the
earth," cf. P.B.E. p. 172.
— Ivi. 7 : " And they shall begin to fight among themselves,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 62.
— Iviii. 3 : " The righteous shall be in the light of the sun
. . . the days of their life shall be unending," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 21, 412, and 418.
— Ix. 4 : " Michael sent another angel . . . and he raised me
up . . . and my spirit returned," cf. P.R.E. p. 325.
— Ix. 7 : " Leviathan," cf. P.R.E. pp. 63 f. and 70.
— Ix. 8 : " Behemoth," cf. P.R.E. pp. 75 f.
— Ix. 20 : " The waters are for those who dwell on the earth,
for they are nourishment for the earth," cf. P.R.E.
p. 87
— Ixi. 5 : " Those who have been destroyed by the desert,
and those who have been devoured by the beasts,
and those who have been devoured by the fish of the
sea, that they may return," cf. P.R.E. p. 249.
— Ixii. 2 : " The word of his mouth slays all the sinners,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 379.
— Ixii. 16 : " They shall have been clothed with garments
of glory," cf. P.R.E. p. 98.
— Ixv. 7 : " How silver is produced from the dust of the
earth," cf. P.R.E. p. 181.
— Ixvii. 8 : " And those waters . . . shall serve for the
heahng of the body," cf. P.R.E. p. 418.
— Ixix. 6 : " And he led astray Eve," cf. P.R.E. pp. 92, 94 f.,
and 150 f.
— Ixix. 11 : " For men were created exactly like the angels,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 85, 151, and 378.
— Ixix. 18 : " The sea was created, and as its foundation
He set for it the sand against the time of its anger,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 27 f.
— Ixx. 3 : " He set me between the two winds, between the
north and the west, where the angels took the cords
to measure," cf. P.R.E. p. 416 f.
— Ixxi. 4 : " The ends of the heaven," cf. P.R.E. p. 16.
Ixxii. 3
Ixxii. 5
xxxii INTRODUCTION
1 Enoch Ixxi. 15: "The world to come," cf. P.E.E. pp. 112,
228, and 230.
— Ixxi. 15 : " Since the creation of the world," ef, P.R.E.
p. 420.
— Ixxii. 1 : " Till the new creation," cf. P.R.E. p. 411.
— Ixxii. 2 : " The portals which are in the east," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 37 ff.
— Ixxii. 3 : " The leaders of the stars," cf. P.R.E. p. 34.
" Windows," cf. P.R.E. pp. 37 ff.
" The chariot on which he {i.e. the sun) ascends,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 40.
— Ixxii. 14 : " The day becomes double the night," cf.
P.R.E. p. 322.
— Ixxii. 37 : " But as regards size they are both equal," cf.
P.R.E. p. 31.
— Ixxv. 1 : " And the leaders render service," cf. P.R.E.
p. 34.
— Ixxvii. 1-3 refers to the four quarters of the world, cf.
P.R.E. p. 17.
— Ixxvii. 4 : " Seven mountains," cf. P.R.E. p. 71.
— Ixxvii. 5 : " Seven rivers," cf. P.R.E. pp. 140 f.
— Ixxviii. 3 : " The size ... of both is alike," cf. P.R.E.
p. 31.
— Ixxviii. 12 : " She becomes full moon exactly on the
day when the sun sets in the west," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 50 f.
— Ixxxii. 1 : "So preserve the books . . . and see that
thou deliver them to the generations of the world,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 52 f.
— Ixxxix. 9 : " One was white . . . one . . . red, and one
black," cf. P.R.E. pp. 172 f.
— Ixxxix. 59 : " And he called seventy shepherds," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 67, 176 f., and 221.
— xci. 16 : " All the powers of the heavens shall give seven-
fold light," cf. P.R.E. p. 412.
— xciii. 11 : " Who is there of all the children of men that
is able to hear the voice of the Holy One ? " etc., cf.
P.R.E. p. 9.
— xcviii. 9 : " Wherefore do not hope to live, ye sinners
. . . for ye have no ransom," cf. P.R.E. pp. 256
and 416.
INTRODUCTION xxxiii
1 Enoch c. 1 : " And brothers, one with another shall fall in
death," of. P.R.E. pp. 220 f.
— ci. 6 : " Has He not set limits to the doings (of the sea)
and confined it throughout by the sand ? " cf. P.R.E.
pp. 27 f.
— civ, 1 : " Remember you for good," cf. P.R.E. p. 2.
— cvi. 2 : " And when he opened his eyes, he lighted up the
whole house like the sun, and the whole house was
very bright," cf. P.R.E. p. 7.
— cvi. 5 : " Resembling the sons of the God of heaven . , .
sprung from the angels," cf. P.R.E. p. 161.
The similar phrases and ideas which occur in P.R.E. and
in the Book of the Secrets of Enoch, usually known as the
Slavonic Enoch, are noteworthy. Many of the following
references are given in the notes on our book :
Slav. Enoch iv. 1 : " The rulers of the orders of the stars,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 34.
— iv. 1 : " Angels who rule the stars and their heavenly
service," cf. P.R.E. pp. 34 and 46.
— V. 1 : " The treasuries of the snow and ice," cf. P.R.E.
p. 17.
— vi. : " The treasuries of the dew," cf. P.R.E. pp. 17,
236.
— X. 3 : " The angels terrible and without pity," cf. P.R.E.
p. 103.
— xi. 3 : " The chariot of the sun," cf. P.R.E. p. 40.
— xi. 4 : " Angels go with the sun, each angel has six
wings," cf. P.R.E. p. 40.
— xii. 2 : " Their wings were like those of angels, each with
twelve," cf. P.R.E. p. 92.
— xiii. 2 : " Six . . . gates, each gate having sixty-one
stadia," cf. P.R.E. p. 37.
— xiv. 2 : " Angels take his {i.e. the sun's) crown," cf. P.R.E.
p. 40.
— xvi. 8 : " And seven (months) are computed to the circle
of the moon during a revolution of nineteen years,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 57.
— xviii. 4 and 5 : " The Watchers with their prince Satanail,
. . . and of them there went three to the earth from
the throne of God . . . and took unto themselves wives
xxxiv INTRODUCTION
. . . and the giants were born and . . . there was
much wickedness," cf. P.R.E. pp. 160 fv
Slav. Enoch xix. 1 : " Seven bands of angels . . . superintend
the good or evil condition of the world," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 103 f.
— xix. 3 : " They hold in subjection all living things both
in heaven and earth," cf. P.R.E. pp. 48 f.
— xix. 6 : " Seven Cherubim . . . and they rejoice before
the Lord at His footstool " (cf. Rev. iv. 6). See
P.R.E. p. 23.
— XX. 3 : " The Lord from afar sitting on His lofty throne,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 22.
— xxi. 1 : " The six-winged creatures overshadow all His
throne, singing : Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of
Sabaoth ! heaven and earth are full of Thy glory,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 25 f.
— xxii. 6 : " Michael, the chief captain, lifted me up and
brought me before the face of the Lord," cf. P.R.E.
p. 284.
— xxiii. 6 : " 366 books," cf. P.R.E. pp. 37 and 165.
— xxiv. 3 : " Nor have (My angels) understood ]My infinite
creation," cf. P.R.E. p. 25.
— xxiv. 4 : " For before anything which is visible existed, I
alone held my course," cf. P.R.E. p. 10.
— xxiv. 5 : " And I planned to lay the foundations," cf.
P.R.E. p. 10.
— XXV. 4 : " And I made for Myself a throne, and sat upon
it," cf. P.R.E. p. 11.
— xxviii. 4 : "I gathered the sea . . . and I restrained it
with a yoke," cf. P.R.E. pp. 27 f.
— xxix. 3 : " From the fire I made the ranks of the spiritual
hosts, ten thousand angels . . . and their garment
is a burning flame," cf. P.R.E. pp. 21 and 25.
— xxix. 5 : " And I hurled (Satanail) from the heights with
his angels," cf. P.R.E. pp. 99 and 193 f.
— XXX. 11 : " And I placed (Adam) upon the earth, like a
second angel, in an honourable, great, and glorious
way," cf. P.R.E. pp. 85 and 89.
— XXX. 12 : " And I made him a ruler to rule upon the
earth," cf. P.R.E. pp. 79 and 80.
— XXX. 15 : " And I showed him the two ways, the light and
INTRODUCTION xxxv
the darkness, and I said unto him : ' This is good and
this is evil,' " cf. P.R.E. p. 102.
Slav. Enoch xxxi. 1 : " And I made a garden in Eden . . . and
(I ordained) that he should observe the law and keep
the instruction," cf, P.R.E. pp. 84 f.
— xxxi. 2 : " And I made for him the heavens open that
he should perceive the angels singing the song of
triumph," cf. P.R.E. pp. 89 f.
— xxxi. 3 : " And the devil took thought, as if wishing
to make another world, because things were sub-
servient to Adam on earth, to rule it and have lord-
ship over it," cf. P.R.E. pp. 91 f.
— xxxi. 4 : " He became Satan after he left the heavens," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 92 and 193 f.
— xxxi. 6 : " He conceived designs against Adam ; in such a
manner he entered and deceived Eve. But he did not
touch Adam " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 92, 94 and 150 f.
— xl. 2 : " The heavens and the end of them," cf. P.R.E.
p. 16.
— xl. 6 : "I have laid down the four seasons, and from the
seasons I made four circles, and in the circles I placed
the years," cf. P.R.E. p. 35.
— xl. 12 : " The lowest hell," cf. P.R.E. pp. 340 f.
— xli. 2 : " Blessed is the man who was not born," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 104 f.
— xlii. 1 : " The guardians of the gates of hell," cf. P.R.E.
p. 103.
— xlii. 3 : " Rest has been prepared for the just," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 128, 255 (note 4).
— xlii. 4 : " Blessed is he who turns from the unstable path
of this vain world, and walks by the righteous path
which leads to eternal hfe," cf. P.R.E. p. 103.
— xliv. 1 : " God made man with His own hands," cf. P.R.E.
p. 148.
— xliv. 3 : " If a man spits at the face of another," cf. P.R.E.
p. 434.
— xlviii. 1,2: "I gave (the sun) 182 thrones when he goes on
a short day, and also 182 thrones when he goes on a
long day, and he has two thrones on which he rests,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 37.
— xlviii. 2 : " From the month Si van after seventeen days
xxxvi INTRODUCTION
he descends to the month Thevan (? Kislev) and from
the 17th day of Thevad (? Tebeth) he ascends," cf.
P.R.E. p. 38.
Slav. Enoch 1. 2 : " Ye shall inherit the endless life that is
to come," cf. P.R.E. p. 137.
— 1. 5 : " Whoever shall spend gold or silver for the sake of
a brother shall receive abundant treasure in the day of
judgment," cf. P.R.E. p. 238.
— Hi. 11 : " Blessed is he who establishes peace and love,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 102 f.
— lii. 12 : " Cursed is he who troubles those who are at
peace," cf. P.R.E. pp. 310 f.
— liii. 1 : " For there is no person there to help any man who
has sinned," cf. P.R.E. pp. 104 f. and 341.
— Iviii. 1 : " In those days when the Lord came upon the
earth for the sake of Adam," cf. P.R.E. p. 89.
— lix. 5 : "If any one does an injury to an animal secretly,
it is an evil custom," cf. P.R.E. p. 291.
— Ixi. 2 : " Mansions : good for the good, evil for the evil,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 104 f. and 255.
— Ixii. 2 : "If he let the appointed time pass and does not
perform the works, he is not blessed, for there is no
repentance after death," cf. P.R.E. p. 341.
— Ixiii. 1 : " When a man . . . feeds the hungry, he gets a
recompense from God," cf. P.R.E. pp. 181 f.
— Ixv. 3 : " The Lord contemplated the world for the sake
of man, and made all the creation for his sake," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 29 and 86 f.
— Ixv. 9 : " There shall be ... no sickness nor anxiety,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 411 f.
— Ixvi. 6 : " They (the just) shall be seven times brighter
than the sun," cf. P.R.E. p. 412.
Appendix, p. 90 (iii. 17) : At the birth of Melchizedek, " the
child was complete in its body like one of three years
old ; and spake with its lips and blessed the Lord " ;
cf. P.R.E. p. 161.
— p. 91 (iii. 35) : " The middle of the earth where Adam
was created," cf. P.R.E. p. 143.
(iii. 36) : " As Adam buried his son Abel there, . . .
wherefore he lay unburicd . . . till he saw a bird called
a jackdaw burying its fledgling " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 156.
INTRODUCTION xxxvii
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and P.R.E.
Test. Reuben v. 5-7 : " Command your wives and daughters
that they adorn not their heads and faces . . . for thus
they allured the Watchers who were before the flood
. . . and the women gave birth to giants " ; cf. P.R.E.
pp. 160 f.
Test. Simeon ii. 8 : " His God . . sent forth His angel and
deUvered " (Joseph), cf. P.R.E. p. 292.
— ii. 10 : " When Reuben heard (of the sale of Joseph)
he was grieved, for he wished to restore him to his
father," cf. P.R.E. pp. 292 f.
— iv. 4 : " Now Joseph . . . had the Spirit of God within
him," cf. P.R.E. p. 305.
— V. 3 : " Then shall perish the seed of Canaan, and a
remnant shall not be unto Amalek," cf. P.R.E. p. 347.
Test. Levi ii. 7 : " And I saw there a great sea hanging
between " (the first and second heaven), cf. P.R.E.
pp. 16 and 39.
— ii. 10 : " The redemption of Israel," cf. P.R.E. pp. 62
and 72.
— iii. 4 : " In the highest (heaven) of all dwelleth the Great
Glory," cf. P.R.E. p. 22.
— iii. 5 : " And in ... it are the angels of the presence of
the Lord, who minister," cf. P.R.E. p. 22.
— iii. 9 : " When, therefore, the Lord looketh upon all
creation, the heavens and the earth and the abysses
are shaken," cf. P.R.E. pp. 23 ff.
— iv. 2 : (Levi) to be " a servant and a minister of His
presence," cf. P.R.E. p. 284.
— V. 1, 3 : " The angel opened to me the gates of heaven
and I saw . . . upon a throne of glory the Most High
. . . then the angel brought me down to the earth " ;
cf. P.R.E. pp. 22 and 284.
— vi. 8 : " They sought to do to . . . Rebecca as they had
done to Dinah," cf. P.R.E. pp. 110 f.
— viii. 3, 4 : " When we came to Bethel, my father Jacob
saw a vision concerning me, that I should be their
priest unto God . . . and he paid tithes of all to the
Lord through me " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 283 f.
xxxviii INTRODUCTION
Test. Levi xiii. 5, 6 : " Work righteousness . . . upon the
earth, that ye may have a treasure in heaven, and soro
good things in your souls, that yc may find them in
your hfe " ; cf. P.K.E. p. 238.
— xvi. 4 : " And your holy plaecs shall be laid waste . . .
and ye shall have no place that is clean," cf. P.R.E.
p. 221.
— xviii. 9, 11: "Sin shall come to an end, and tlie lawless
shall cease to do evil. . . . And he shall give to the
saints to eat from the tree of life," cf. P.R^E. pp. 411
and 418.
Test. Judah vii. 7 : (And the Canaanites) " besought my father
(Jacob) and he made peace with them," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 279 f.
— ix. 2, 3 : " Esau, the brother of my father, came upon us
with a mighty and strong people, and Jacob smote
Esau with an arrow and he was taken up wounded
on Mount Seir " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 309 f.
— xxii. 2 and ef. Test. Naph. viii. 2 : " Until the
salvation of Israel shall come," ef. P.R.E. pp. 62
and 72.
— xxiii. 2 ff. : Messianic woes are described, cf. P.R.E. pp.
62 and 221 f.
— xxiii. 4 : " And they shall make some of you eunuchs,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 426.
— xxiv. 4 : Messiah called " branch," cf. P.R.E. p. 384.
— XXV. 4 : " They who have died in grief shall arise in joy,
and they who were poor for the Lord's sake shall
awake to Hfe," cf. P.R.E. p. 252.
Test. Zebulun i. 5, 6 : " For I covenanted with my brethren
not to tell my father what had been done ... be-
cause they had all agreed, that if any one should
declare the secret, he should be slain," cf. P.R.E.
p. 293.
— iii. 2 : (They) " took the price of Joseph and bought
sandals for themselves," cf. P.R.E. p. 293.
— iv. 5 : " Reuben's sorrow," cf. P.R.E. p. 293.
— ix. 4 : " Be not ye, therefore, divided into two heads,
for everything which the Lord made hath but one
head " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 333.
Test. Dan. ii. 2, 3 : " For anger is blindness . . . though it be
INTRODUCTION xxxix
a prophet of the Lord, he disobey eth him," of. P.R.E.
p. 373.
Test. Dan. iv. 7 : " When the soul is . . . disturbed, the Lord
departeth from it," of. P.R.E. , loc. cit.
— V. 6 : " Your prince is Satan," cf. P.R.E. p. 92.
— V. 12 : "And the saints shall rest in Eden," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 58 and 128.
— vi. 4 : " On the day on which Israel shall repent, the
kingdom of the enemy shall be brought to an end,
for the very angel of peace ^ shall strengthen Israel " ;
cf. P.R.E. p. 344.
In Test. Naphtali i. 11, 12, Zilpah and Bilhah are sisters,
cf. P.R.E. p. 271.
Test. Naphtali ii. 1 : "I was swift on my feet like the deer,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 309.
— iii. 4 : " Sodom, which changed the order of nature," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 181 ff.
— iii. 5 : " The Watchers, . . . whom the Lord cursed at
the flood, on whose account He made the earth
without inhabitant and fruitless," cf. P.R.E. p. 162.
— V. 6, 7 : "A bull . . . ^vith two great horns . . . and
Joseph came and seized him, and ascended up with
him on high," cf. P.R.E. p. 131.
— V. 8 : " Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Syrians shall possess
in captivity the twelve tribes of Israel," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 128, 201 f., and 265.
— vii. 4 : "To declare that Joseph had been sold, but I
feared my brethren," cf. P.R.E. p. 293.
— viii. 5 : " For a good work there is a good remembrance
before God," cf. P.R.E. pp. 290 and 309.
Test. Gad i. 6, 7 : " Joseph told our father that the sons of
Zilpah and Bilhah were slaying the best of the
flock ... for he saw that I had delivered a lamb
out of the mouth of the bear . . . and had slain the
lamb, being grieved concerning it that it could not
live " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 291.
— ii. 3 : " Therefore I and Simeon sold him to the Ishmael-
ites for thirty pieces of gold," cf. P.R.E. pp. 292 f.
— V. 10 : " For by what things a man transgresseth, by the
same also is he punished," cf. P.R.E. pp. 185 and 331 f.
1 Elijah=Phineas.
xl INTRODUCTION
Test. Gad vii. 4 : " Though a man became rich by evil
means, even as Esau, the brother of my father," of.
PM.E. p. 290.
— vii. 5 : " The unrepentant is reserved for eternal punish-
ment," cf. P.R.E. p. 105.
Test. Asher i. 3 : " Two ways hath God given to the sons of
men," cf. P.R.E. p. 102.
— vii. 4, 5, 6 : " For the latter end of men do show their
righteousness (or unrighteousness), when they meet
the angels of the Lord and of Satan. For when the
soul departs troubled, it is tormented by the evil
spirit . . . but if he is peaceful with joy he meeteth
the angel of peace, and he leadeth him into eternal
life " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 103 ff., 255.
— vii. 1 : " Sodom which . . . perished for ever," cf.
P.R.E. p. 186.
Test. Joseph ii. 1 : " The God of Israel my father delivered
me (Joseph) from the burning flame," cf. P.R.E.
p. 305.
— ii. 7 : " In ten temptations He showed me approved," cf.
P.R.E. p. 187.
— iii. 3 : " But I remembered the words of my father "
(and sinned not with the Egyptian woman) ; cf. P.R.E.
p. 305.
— iii. 7 : " Because she had no male child she pretended to
regard me as a son, and so I prayed to the Lord, and
she bare a male child," cf. P.R.E. p. 288.
— vi. 6 : " The God of my father hath revealed unto me
by His angel thy wickedness," cf. P.R.E. p. 305.
— X. 2 : " The Lord will dwell among you, because He
loveth chastity," cf. P.RE. pp. 305 f.
Test. Benjamin iv. 1 : " That ye also may wear crowns of
glory," cf. P.R.E. pp. 367 f.
The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch or 3 Baruch contains
several phrases and ideas common to P.R.E.
Both books profess to reveal the mysteries of God, thus
3 Baruch ii. 1 refers to the firmament and " where there
was a river " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 16, and see also A. and P.
ii. p. 534.
3 Baruch iii. 5, 6 : "A woman making bricks . . . brought
INTRODUCTION xli
forth while she was making bricks . . . and the Lord
appeared to them," cf. P.R.E. pp. 385 f.
3 Baruch iv. 6 and v. 2 : " Dragon . . . also drinks about
a cubit from the sea, which does not sink at all " ;
cf. P.R.E. pp. 75 f., and see A. and P. p. 535,
note 3.
— iv. 8 : " Tree which led Adam astray . . . which Sammael
planted," cf. P.R.E. p. 95.
— iv. 10 : " The flood . . . removed without the bounds
(of Paradise) the shoot of the vine and cast it outside,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 170.
• — iv. 11 : (Noah) " found also the shoot of the vine," cf.
P.R.E., loc. cit.
— iv. 16 : (Adam) " was divested of the glory of God,"
P.R.E. p. 98.
— vi. 1, 2, and vii. 4 : " The sun . . . chariot . . . crown of
fire," cf. P.R.E. p. 40.
— vi. 5 : " Expanding his wings receives its fiery rays," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 25 and 40.
— vi. 7 : " On his right wing very large letters," cf. P.R.E.
p. 40.
— ix. 7 : " Sammael when he took the serpent as a garment,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 92.
— xiv. 2 : " Michael . . . presenting the merits of men to
God," cf. P.R.E. p. 386.
The (Syriac) Apocalypse nf Baruch, and P.R.E.
Baruch iv. 3 : (The city) " which was prepared beforehand
here from the time when I took counsel to make
Paradise," cf. P.R.E. p. 14, note 10.
— iv. 3 : " And showed (Paradise) to Adam before he
sinned," cf. P.R.E. p. 128.
— vi. 9 : " Jerusalem ... is again (to be) restored for
ever," cf. P.R.E. p. 414.
— X. 6 : " Blessed is he who was not born," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 104 f.
— xi. 4 : " The righteous sleep in the earth," cf. P.R.E.
p. 260.
— xiv. 18 : (Man) " was by no means made on account of
the world, but the world on account of him . . .
xlii INTRODUCTION
on account of the righteous has this world come,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 62 f., 76, and 86 f.
Baruch xvii. 2 : " Adam . . . Hved nine hundred and thirty-
years," cf. P.R.E. p. 128, and see Gen. v. 5.
— xviii. 2 : " Darkness of Adam," cf. P.R.E. p. 144.
— xxi. 6 : " The holy living creatures . . . which Thou
didst make from the beginning, of flame and fire,
which stand around Thy throne," cf. P.R.E. pp. 21
and 23 f.
— xxiv. 2 : " Who has been long-suffering towards all those
born that sin and are righteous," cf. P.R.E. p. 76.
— xxviii. 2 : " For the measure and reckoning of that time
are two parts weeks of seven weeks," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 62 and 200 f.
— xxix. 4 : " And Behemoth will be revealed from his
place, and Leviathan will ascend from the sea . . .
then they will be for food for all that are left," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 70, 72, and 76.
— xxix. 7 : " The dew of health," cf. P.R.E. pp. 238 and 260.
— XXX. 2 : " The treasuries will be opened in which is pre-
served the number of the souls of the righteous," cf.
P.R.E. pp. 255 and 259.
— xxxii. 4 : (The building of Zion) " must be renewed
afterwards in glory, and it will be perfected for
evermore," cf. P.R.E. p. 414.
— xxxix. 7 : " The prmcipate of My Messiah will be re-
vealed," cf. P.R.E. p. 83.
— xlviii. 46 : " For Thou didst of old command the dust
to produce Adam," cf. P.R.E. pp. 76 ff.
— 1. 2 : " For the earth will then assuredly restore the
dead, which it now receives, in order to preserve
them, making no change in their form, but as it has
received so will it restore them " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 258.
— li. 3 : " Their splendour will be glorified in changes, and
the form of their face will be turned into the light
of their beauty," cf. P.R.E. p. 412.
— H. 11 : "The living creatures which are beneath the
throne," cf. P.R.E. pp. 23 f.
— Ivii. 2 : "At that time (in the days of Abraham and
Isaac) the unwritten law was named amongst them,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 223.
INTRODUCTION xliii
Baruch lix. 3 : " And those who were under the throne of
the Mighty One were perturbed, when He was taking
Moses unto Himself," cf. P.R.E. pp. 361 and 365.
— Hx. 5-7 : " He showed to him . . . the suppression of
anger and the multitude of long-suffering . . .
wisdom . . , understanding . . . and knowledge,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 76 and 365 f.
— lix. 10 : " The mouth of Gehenna," cf. P.R.E. pp. 29,
71, and 432.
— Ixiv. 8 : " When (Manasseh) was cast into the brazen
horse," of. P.R.E. p. 340, note 1.
— Ixxiii. 2 : " Then healing will descend in dew," cf. P.R.E.
p. 260.
— Ixxv. 4 : " Who is able to recount the thoughts of Thy
mind ? " cf. P.R.E. p. 9.
The Book of Wisdofn, and P.R.E.
Book of Wisdom i. 13 : "Nor hath (God) pleasure in the
destruction of them that live," cf. P.R.E. p. 104.
— ii. 13 : (Having) " knowledge of God, and calleth himself
the Lord's child," cf. P.R.E. p. 161.
— ii. 18 and cf. v. 5 : " For if the righteous be God's son,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 161.
— ii. 22 : " Yea, they know not the mysteries of God," cf.
P.R.E. p. 9.
— ii. 24 : " But through the Devil's envy came death into
the world," cf. P.R.E. p. 100.
— iii. 7, 8 : " And in the day of their inspection they shall
shine forth . . . and their Lord shall be King for
ever," cf. P.R.E. pp. 83 and 260.
— iv. 4 : " For even if in their shoots they blossom for a
season, standing unstably they shall be shaken by
the wind, and be rooted out by the violence of the
winds," cf. P.R.E. p. 132.
— V. 15 : " But the righteous live for ever," cf. P.R.E.
pp. 104 and 260.
— vii. 18, 19 : " The turn of the solstices and the changes
of seasons, the cycles of years and the positions of
the stars," cf. P.R.E. p. 52.
— ix. 2 : " And through Thy wisdom didst form man to
xliv INTRODUCTION
have rule over the creatures made by Thee," of.
P.B.E. p. 79.
Book of Wisdom ix. 6 : " For though one be perfect among
the sons of men, if the wisdom from Thee be lacking,
he shall be accounted for naught," cf. P.R.E. p. 129.
— ix. 8 : " The holy Tabernacle which Thou preparedst
from the beginning," cf. P.R.E. p. 12.
— ix. 9, 10 : " And with Thee is wisdom that knoweth Thy
works, and was present when Thou madest the
world. . . . Send her forth out of the holy heavens.
And despatch her from the throne of Thy glory," cf.
P.R.E. p. 12.
— X. 1, 2 : " She it was that protected the first formed
father of the world throughout, created alone as he
was, and rescued him from his own transgression,
and gave him strength to rule over all things " ; cf.
P.R.E. pp. 79 and 127.
— X. 4 : " Through whom (Cain's descendants) when the
earth was drowned," cf, P.R.E. p. 162, and cf.
Josephus, Ant. i. 2. 2.
— X. 5 : " She also, when the nations were confounded in a
conspiracy of wickedness, found the just man and
preserved him blameless unto God, yea, and kept him
firm against pity for a son " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 176 and
224, and Jerome, Quaest. Heb. in Gen., quoted by
Deane in loc.
— X. 7 : " And plants that bear fruit of bloom that never
ripeneth ; a pillar of salt standing as a memorial of an
unbelieving soul," cf. P.R.E. p. 186.
— X. 10 : Wisdom guided " in straight paths " ; and showed
" to him (Jacob) God's kingdom and gave him
knowledge of holy things " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 265.
— X. 12 : " She preserved him throughout from enemies,
and made him safe from licrs in wait, yea, and a
sore conflict she decided for him " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 309 f.
— X. 13, 14 : " She deserted not a righteous one that was
sold, but delivered him from sin . . . until she brought
him the sceptre of a kingdom," cf. P.R.E. p. 305.
— X. 19 : " But their enemies did she drown, and cast
them up out of the depths of the abyss," cf. P.R.E.
p. 332.
INTRODUCTION xlv
Book of Wisdom xi. 16 : " That they might know that by
what things a man sinneth, thereby he is punished,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 332.
— xi. 23 : " Thou hast mercy on all because Thou hast
power over all, and dost overlook the faults of men
in order to their repentance," cf. P.R.E. p. 76.
— xi. 24 : " Thou cherishest all things that are and ab-
horrest nothing which Thou madest, for Thou never
wouldst have formed anything in hatred thereof,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 76.
— xii. 10 : " But executing judgment upon them by little
and little Thou gavest them a place of repentance,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 10.
— xii. 19 : " And madest Thy sons to be of good hope
that Thou grantest for sins repentance," cf. P.R.E.
p. 10.
— xiv. 6 : " For in the beginning also, when the haughty
giants perished," cf. P.R.E. p. 161.
— xiv. 15 : " For a father afflicted with untimely grief,
having made an image of a child quickl}^ reft away,
now honoured as a god him which was then a dead
human being, and enjoined on his dependants
mysteries and initiations " ; of. P.R.E. pp. 273 f.
— xvi. 7 (and cf. ibid. 12) : " For he that turned towards
it was not saved by that which was beheld, but
through Thee, the preserver of all," cf. P.R.E. p. 437.
— xviii. 6 : " That night was known beforehand to our
fathers, that knowing surely on what oaths they
trusted they might be cheered," cf. P.R.E. p. 195.
— xviii. 16 : (The Logos) " bearing as a sharp sword Thine
irrevocable commandment," cf. P.R.E. p. 367.
— xviii. 22 : " And he (Aaron) overcame the wrath . . .
but by word he subdued the chastiser, appealing to
the oaths and covenants of the fathers," cf. P.R.E.
p. 357 f.
— xviii. 25 : " To these the destroyer yielded," cf. P.R.E.,
loc. cit.
— xix. 8 : Cf. P.R.E. p. 330, note 7.
xlvi INTRODUCTION
The Book of Adam and Eve, and P.R.E.
" The Book of Adam and Eve," also called the " Conflict
of Adam and Eve \vith Satan," offers many passages which
seem to recall phrases and thoughts in our book. The
quotations given refer to the edition of Malan.
Book of Adam and Eve i. i. : " Water that encompasses the
world and reaches unto the borders of heaven,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 16, 39.
— I. i. : " To dwell there in a cave," cf. P.R.E. p. 148.
— I. iv. and i. xxiii. : " When Adam looked at his flesh that
was altered," cf. P.R.E. pp. 98, 147.
— I. v., xi., and xii. : " From light into this darkness,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 144.
— I. V. : " Thou art (He) who made us both in one day,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 78.
— I. vi. : " If only you had not transgressed My command-
ment and had kept My law " (in the Garden), cf.
P.R.E. p. 85.
— I. vi. : " The wicked Satan who continued not in his
first estate ... so that I hurled him down from
heaven," cf. P.R.E. pp. 99, 193.
— I. vii. : " Thou madest them all {i.e. the beasts) subject
to me," cf. P.R.E. p. 79.
— I. vii. : " The beasts did obeisance to Adam," cf. P.R.E.
p. 79.
— I. X. : " While thou wast under My command and wast
a bright angel," cf. P.R.E. pp. 85, 98.
— I. xiii. : The first dark night is described, cf. P.R.E.
p. 144.
— I. xiii. : " Thou didst not keep one day My command-
ment," cf. P.R.E. p. 125.
— I. xvii. : " Wriggling on its breast on the ground by
reason of the curse that fell upon it from God,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 99.
— I. xvii. : " Aforetime the serpent was the most exalted
of all beasts," cf. P.R.E. p. 92.
— I. xxii. : " We did transgress Thy commandment, and
forsook Thy law, and sought to become gods like
unto Thee when Satan the enemy deceived us " ;
cf. P.R.E. p. 94.
INTRODUCTION xlvii
Book of Adam and Eve i. xxiii. : " Adam and Eve . . . offered
upon the altar as an offering unto God," cf. P.R.E.
p. 171, note 8.
— I. xxiv. : " God accepted their offering and showed them
mercy," cf. P.R.E. p. 147.
— I. XXV. : " And thereby it will be made known that Thou
art a merciful God," cf. P.R.E. p. 147.
— I. xxvii. ; " And he shed light into the cave," cf. P.R.E.
p. 144.
— I. xxvii. : " Angels filled with light and sent ... to
keep us," cf. P.R.E., loc. cit.
— I. xxvii. : " Satan was hidden in the serpent," cf. P.R.E.
p. 93.
— I. xxix. ; God sends Michael to fetch golden rods to be
with Adam in the cave, and to " shine forth with light
in the night around him and put an end to his fear
of the darkness," cf. P.R.E. p. 144.
— I. XXX. : " Gabriel fetches for Adam from Paradise
sweet-smelling incense," cf. P.R.E. p, 146, note 7.
— I. xxxi. : Cave of Treasures, (so called) by reason of the
bodies of righteous men that were in it, ct P.R.E. p. 148.
— I. xxxii. : "On the eighth day . . . Eve went down into
the water . . . Adam also went down into the
water," cf. P.R.E. p. 147.
— I. xxxiii. : " They fasted in the water," cf. P.R.E.,
loc. cit.
— I. xxxiv. : " Their bodies were lean," cf. P.R.E. p. 147.
— I. xxxiv. : " Thou . . . didst create me out of . . . dust
. . . and didst bring me into the garden at the
third hour, on a Friday," cf. P.R.E. pp. 78 f., 84, 128.
— I. xxxvii. : " We transgressed Thy commandment at
the sixth hour of Friday, we were stripped of the
bright nature we had, and did not continue in the
garden after our transgression, more than three
hours. On the evening Thou madest us come out
of it " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 94, 98, 125.
— I. xxxviii. : " Thy righteous seed," cf. P.R.E. p. 336.
— I. xliv. : " See this fire of which we have a portion in us,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 20, 88.
— I. xlviii. : " Satan called to his hosts . . . and said to
them, ' Ye know that this Adam, whom God
xlviii INTRODUCTION
created out of the dust, is he who has taken our
kingdom. Come, let us gather together and kill him ' " ;
cf. P.B.E. pp. 91 f.
Book of Adam and Eve i. xlviii. : " Spread over us like a
tent," cf. P.E.E. p. 16.
— I. 11. : " And bound (Satan) by the side of those skins
until Adam and Eve came near," cf. P.B.E. p. 99.
— I. li. and cf. Ivii. : " This is (Satan) who was hidden in the
serpent, and who deceived you, and stripped you of
the garment of light and glory in which you were.
This is he who promised you majesty and divinity " ;
cf. P.R.E. pp. 93 f., 98.
— I. Iv. : " You (angels) do not serve me as you were wont,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 89, 125.
— I. I v. : " (Satan) gathered together his hosts, and made
war with us (angels). And if it had not been for
God's strength that was with us, we could not have
prevailed against him to hurl him down from heaven " ;
cf. P.E.E. pp. 193 f.
— I. Ivi. : " A day of rest as I gave thee," cf. P.R.E. pp. 125 f.
— I. Ivi. : " And God commanded His angels to escort
Adam (and Eve) to the cave with joy. . . . And the
angels took up Adam and Eve and brought them . . .
with songs and psalms until they brought them to
the cave " ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 89 f.
— I. lix. : " See (Satan) is lord and master of all thou
(Adam) hast," cf. P.R.E. p. 93.
— I. Ix. : Apparition of Satan as an old man described,
cf. P.R.E. p. 234.
— I. Ixii., Ixix., Ixxii. : " But Satan, the wicked, was envi-
ous," cf. P.R.E. p. 91.
— I. Ixii. : " Then Satan went away ashamed of not having
wrought out his design," cf. P.R.E. p. 233.
— I. Ixvii. (and cf. Ixxii.) : (Adam and Eve) " may, perhaps,
deny God, and He (will) destroy them. So shall we
be rid of them " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 91.
— I. Ixviii. (i. Ixxv. and it. xviii.) : " They offered ... on
the altar they had built at first," cf. P.R.E. p. 227,
note 2.
— I. Ixxiii. and ii. iii. : Angels arrange the wedding of
Adam and Eve; "the wedding" cf. P.R.E. pp. 89 f.
INTRODUCTION xlix
Book of Adam and Eve i. Ixxiv. : (Eve) " brought forth her
first-born son, and with him a daughter," of. P.R.E.
p. 152.
— I. Ixxv. : (Eve) " brought forth another son and daughter,"
cf. P.R.E., loc. cit. and p. 154.
— I. Ixxv. : " After the birth of these, Eve ceased from
child-bearing," cf. P.R.E. p. 152, note 11.
— I. Ixxv. : " Cain, moved by Satan to kill Abel on account
of the twin-sister of the former," cf. P.R.E. p. 154.
— I. Ixxix. : " Cain took a large stone, and smote his brother
with it upon the head," cf. P.R.E., loc. cit.
— I. Ixxix. : " The earth, when the blood of . . . Abel fell
upon it, trembled," cf. P.R.E. pp. 155 f.
— I. Ixxix. : " Cain began at once to dig the earth (wherein
to lay) his brother ... he ... cast his brother into
the pit (he made) . . . but the earth would not receive
him ; but it threw him up at once " ; cf. P.R.E., loc. cit.
— I. Ixxix. : " God (said) to Cain, 'Where is thy brother? '
... in mercy ... to try and make him repent," cf.
P.R.E., loc. cit.
— II. i. : (Adam and Eve) " foimd (Abel) lying on the earth,
and beasts around him," cf. P.R.E. p. 156.
— II. i. : " Adam . . . laid him in the Cave of Treasures,"
cf. P.R.E., loc. cit.
— II. i. : " They placed a lamp (in the Cave of Treasures) to
burn, by night and by day, before the body of Abel,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 275.
— II. viii. and ii. xxi. : Adam directs his body to be placed
in the Cave of Treasures, and finally to be buried in
the middle of the earth, cf. P.R.E. pp. 78, 148, 266.
— II. viii. and ii. x., xi. : Seth's children are to be kept
apart from those of Cain, cf. P.R.E. pp. 158 f.
— II. ix. : Adam came out of the garden on Friday at the
ninth hour, cf. P.R.E. p. 125.
— II. ix. : Adam's body was in the cave and " in front of him
a lamp-stand (was) kept burning," cf. P.R.E. p. 275.
— II. ix. : " The altar upon which Adam offered," cf. P.R.E.
p. 227, note 2.
— II. xi., III. iv. : The children of Seth are named " children
of God " or " angels of God," by reason of their
purity; cf. P.R.E. pp. 158 f., 161.
d
1 INTRODUCTION
Book of Adam and Eve ii. xvii. : " The land, north of the
garden, which God created before the world," cf.
P.R.E. p. 11.
— II. xvii. : " The chosen garments," cf. P.R.E. pp. 175, 178.
— II. xviii. : " The fathers themselves were praying for his
deliverance," cf. P.R.E. pp. 310 f., 432 f.
— II. XX. deals with the immorality of the children of Cain,
cf. P.R.E. pp. 159 f.
— II. XX. : Genun misleads the children of Seth, cf. P.R.E.
p. 377.
— II. XX. : " And when they looked at the daughters of Cain,
at their beautiful figiu'e and at their hands and feet
dyed with colour, and tattooed in ornaments on their
faces, the fire of sin was kindled in them," . . . and
they committed abominations ; cf. P.R.E. pp. 159 f.
— III. ii. : (Noah) builds the ark in the presence of the
children of Cain, that " they may see thee working at
it ; and if they will not repent, they shall perish,"
cf. P.R.E. pp. 161, 165.
— III. ii. : " The first storey shall be for lions, and beasts,
animals and ostriches all together. The second
storey shall be for birds and creeping things.
" And the third storey shall be for thee and thy
wife, and for thy sons and their wi\'es.
" And make in the ark wells for water, and open-
ings to them . . . and thou shall line these wells
with lead " ; cf. P.R.E. p. 165.
— III. V. : God made Adam king over His works, cf. P.R.E.
pp. 79 f.
— III. V. : " To watch over the body of our father Adam,
for it is a body of great value before God," cf. P.R.E.
p. 148.
— III. vii. (viii. and xi.) : " Thy wife, and the wives of thy
sons, shall be on the western side of the ark ; and
they and their wives shall not come together " ; cf.
P.R.E. p. 169.
— III. viii. : " All the animals shall be gathered unto thee,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 166.
— III. ix. : " An angel of God sat upon the ark," cf. P.R.E.
p. 167.
— III. xi. : When the flood was over, they (men and women
INTRODUCTION li
in the ark) " came together, the husband with his
wife," cf. P.R.E. p. 169.
Book of Adam and Eve iii. xiii. : " Noah took a root of vine
and planted it, and dressed it until it yielded fruit,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 170.
— III. xiv. : Noah divides the earth among (his sons), cf.
P.R.E. pp. 172 f.
— III. xvii. : " The house full of light," cf. P.R.E. pp. 166 f.
— III. xvii. : " And (lest) they hang on to the body of
Adam," cf. P.R.E. p. 148.
— III. xxiii. : " One of the first kings that ever reigned on
the earth, whose name was Nimrud, a giant," cf.
P.R.E. p. 80.
— III. xxiv. : " Satan entered into the idol of gold," cf.
P.R.E. p. 355.
— III. xxv. : Nimrod sacrifices victims to the fire, cf. P.R.E.
pp. 188, 420.
— IV. ii. : (Pharaoh) " gave to Sarah, Hagar the Egyptian,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 190.
— IV. ii. refers to Ishmael as being thirteen years older than
Isaac, cf. P.R.E. p. 217, note 3.
— IV. ii. states that Isaac was fourteen years old when put
on the altar, cf. P.R.E. p. 225.
— IV. iii. : " Jerusalem that means the middle of the earth,"
cf. P.R.E. p. 266.
— IV. V. : " And this Naasson was great among the sons of
Judah," cf. P.R.E. p. 331, note 1.
— IV. ix. : Lion-proselytes and Samar[itans], cf. P.R.E. p. 299.
— IV. xi. : " The fire ... is the Divine fire that was all the
time in the house of God," cf. P.R.E. p. 429.
Dr. Ginzberg's article on the Book of Adam and Eve in
the first volume of the Jezvish Encyclopedia should be read,
and the notes on the Books of Adam and Eve in A. and P. ii.
might be consulted. Many of the references to similar
phrases and ideas given in this Introduction are not repeated
in the notes to P.R.E.
The Apocalypse of Abraham (see P.R.E. pp. 70, 76) should
also be read as a side-light to our book. Thus, the interpre-
tation of " Ur of the Chaldees " as the fire of the Chaldees
is common to both. The attempt of Azazel to disturb
Hi INTRODUCTION
Abraham when offering his sacrifice to God is somewhat
similar to the attempt of Sammael to hinder Abraham's
sacrifice of the ram instead of Isaac. The " unclean bird "
which swoops down upon the carcasses, as well as " the
vision " of Abraham between the pieces, beholding the
world in its future career, reappear in our book. Both
writings refer to the Divine throne and the Cherubim as
well as to the revelation of the secrets of the deep (Leviathan).
Sammael (or Azazel) had twelve wings according to our
book and the Apocalypse. Dr. Ginzberg, in his interesting
article on the Apocalypse in the J.E. i. 92, refers to Chapters
IX., XIII., XX., XXL, and XXVIII. of the Pirke de Rabbi
Eliezer.
For parallel or similar expressions and teaching in —
(a) 4 Ezra, see pp. 11, 60, 63, 70, 87, 136, 198, 202,
257 ff., 260, 350, and 357.
(b) Ascension of Isaiah, see pp. 17, 21, 92, and 24.5.
(c) Assumption of Moses, see pp. 11, 63, 194, 266, 339,
344, 357, 393, and 412.
We have by no means exhausted the material in the
foregoing paragraphs. Such books as Schatzhohle, Kehra
Nagast, and the Book of the Bee, not to mention the Koran
and its famous commentaries, contain much material in
common Avith our " Chapters." Philo and Ecclesiasticus also
offer several interesting parallels.
It is not by any means definitely established that our
author actually copied any of the afore-mentioned books.
^Yhat is maintained, however, is the existence of some
sort of literary connection between P.R.E. and these books.
This may be explained by the existence of compositions
based on the Pseudepigrapha or used by the authors of
this class of literature. The link is missing and it would
be extremely hazardous to do more than point out the
existence of similar ideas and occasionally actual parallel
phrases. It must not be forgotten that many of the ideas
common to the Midrashim and the Pseudepigrapha were,
so to say, common property, floating traditions which were
recorded not only in Enoch or Jubilees, but also in the
Books of Adam and Eve, and later in our book, and later
still in such compositions as the Book of the Bee.
One lesson seems to be driven home from our study,
INTRODUCTION liii
and that is the impossibih'ty of propeilji^ understanding the
Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphic wiitings Avithont the
assistance of the teaching of Rabbinic:^. • So abo vice versa,
we must ilhistrate Rabbinical literature by the teaching of
the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha.
§ 6. P.R.E. AND Patristic Literature
Ginzberg, Goldfahn, Graetz, Kohler, Rahraer, and others
have discussed various aspects of Patristic literature in
connection with Midrashic teaching. This field of inquiry
is by no means exhausted. Very many interesting parallels
to some of the teaching in our " Chapters " are to be
found in the writings of the Church Fathers. It would be
advantageous to read the Patristic literature in the light
of Midrashic exegesis and interpretation and vice versa.
One or two instances will explain this standpoint.
The Statutes of the Apostles (ed. Horner), § 70, p. 215,
direct that " seven days should be kept for a memorial of
the living and the dead." This rule will be appreciated
if compared with the Jewish institution of the " seven days
of mourning " (see P.R.E. p. 115), Again, the 48th statute
directs prayers to be said five times daily {op. cit. pp. 182 f.).
This rule should be illustrated by the Rabbinic custom of
praying thrice daily (see P.R.E. p. 110).
Vorstius and manv scholars after him have not dis-
guised their profound contempt for the legends contained
in our " Chapters " and in other Midrashic writings. This
attitude must give place to a more sympathetic understand-
ing of the fact that Midrash exists not only in the works of
the Rabbis but also in the New Testament and in Patristic
literature. Many legends preserved in our " Chapters " are
also to be found in the interesting volumes of the " Ante-
Nicene Christian Library." Many of these parallels are
mentioned in the notes to our " Chapters."
§ 7. Date and Origin of P.R.E.
A few historical and literary clues, disclosed by a careful
study of our book, enable us to fix the date of its final
redaction, This is probably either the second or the third
liv IMTRODUCTTON
decade of tlie nirvth century. This late date does not,
however, indicate |:'iat most of the material at the disposal
of the redaptor dJi. not belong to a much earlier period.
We have already m^itioned 776 c.e. in connection with
the BaraiUid de R. Sh'muel, and if this treatise proved to be
an independent work, which has been partially incorporated
into our book, we can safely assert that the three astro-
nomical chapters belong to a date at least half a century
prior to the final redaction of the book. The Creation
legends, which go back to the Books of Enoch and Jubilees
as well as to the Books of Adam and Eve, contain material
which is earlier than the first century c.e. Again, the legends
dealing with the Flood have elements in common with
traditions pi'cserved by Hippolytus, whose activity was in
the first decades of the third century (c. 200-236). Jean
Gagnier, who was at Oxford in the eighteenth century,
drew attention to a parallel in Hippolytus to P.R.E., duly
noted by Fabricius in his stately edition of the writings
of the Church Father.
Scholars are by no means agreed as to the locality
whence P.R.E. emanated. The latest opinion is that of Dr.
Samuel Krauss, who refers to it as a Byzantine production,
see Studien zur Byzantinisch-Judischen Geschichte (1914),
pp. 145 f. M. Griinbaum in his learned book, Neue Beitrdge
zur Semitischen Sagenkunde (1893), inclines to the view that
P.R.E. was written in an Arabian atmosphere. There are
clear indications of contact with Mohammedan material
(cf, P.R.E. XXX.), the names Fatimah (p. 219) and 'Ayeshah
(p. 218) as wives of Ishmael occur and betray Islamic
influence. In Chapter XXX. (pp. 221 f.) two brothers who
are reigning simultaneously are indicated ; Graetz has long
ago pointed to this passage as referring to the two sons of
Harun al-Rashid, Alemin and Elmamum, who ruled in the
early years of the ninth century. Miiller has drawn attention
to the Minhagim or religious customs which are peculiar to
our book, and as a result of his investigation he is of opinion
that P.R.E. is a Palestinian production. There are many
subsidiary points which seem to support this view. The
fact already mentioned, that the direct quotations from
the Talmud are only from the Palestinian recension ;
and the use made of another Palestinian work, Genesis
INTRODUCTION Iv
Rabbah, seem to support a Palestinian origin. There are
striking references to the Holy Land, its privileges and
superiority, which point to a Palestinian authorship.
On the other hand, there are reasons for regarding Babylon
as the home of P.R.E. Dr. Biichler's studies dealing with
the ban, which will be quoted in the notes (pp. 301 f.),
seem to point to Babylon as the source whence our
book came. Other lines of inquiry, e.g. the punishment
inflicted on a woman guilty of immorality (see p. 100),
point in the same direction. It is extremely difficult to
decide in a question of this kind, especially when eminent
authorities hold such divergent views. It is right to point
out that the views of Graetz referred to on pp. 221 f. have
been refuted by Steinschneider (see note on p. 222).
Likewise his theory {Geschichte, v. p. 446) that our book in
Chapter XXX. is indebted to the Secrets of R. Simeon
ben Jochai in connection with the misrule of the Ishmaelites,
has been controverted by Horowitz, Beth 'Eked Ha-Hagadoth,
p. 24. Both, however, agree that the date of the composi-
tion of our book is about 750 c.e.
§ 8. Polemical Tendency in P.R.E.
Apparently there is no direct reference to Christianity.
On the other hand, there are several allusions to Islam as
the " Fourth Kingdom " destined to persecute the Chosen
People prior to the dawn of the Messianic Kingdom. There
are also several echoes from the old controversies which
the ancient teachers in Israel waged against the Gnostics
(cf. pp. 17, 79 f.). One of the set purposes of part of the
work is to combat certain teachings contained in some
of the Pseudepigrapha, especially in the Book of Jubilees.
It is noteworthy that the Cairo Geni?ah has restored to us
Aramaic fragments based on the Book of Jubilees and also
on the Testaments of the XII Patriarchs. The Zohar refers
to a book of Enoch (Lev. 10a) which seems to have been in
Aramaic. We believe we have established the fact that
there is close connection between our " Chapters " and the
afore-mentioned pseudepigraphic books.
Our author lays great stress on the doctrine of the
resurrection of the body (cf. pp. 228, 249 f.). This may be
Ivi INTRODUCTION
directed against the teaching set forth in many of the
pseudcpigraphic and apocryphal books, which deny the
physical resiuTcction.
On page 254 he opposes, as the Talmud, the destruction
of fruit-bearing trees (see Krauss in n^^'C'n, 1908, xix. 28 ff. ;
and T.A. ii. p. 205).
There may be a polemical interest in the description of
the Teraphim (pp. 273 f.), possibly the worship of relics is
attacked here. The belief in the possibility of the Deity
having physical offspring (see p. 85, note 10) is opposed.
Celibacy (p. 89, note 2) seems to be regarded with
disfavour, and possibly divorce (see p. 219) is likewise dis-
approved.
§ 9. Theology of P.R.E.
The note struck in the first two chapters, proclaiming
the supreme value of the Torah, the Law of God, is in
harmony with the teaching in the rest of the book. The
Law belongs to the premundane creation (p. 11), it was
with God at the Creation (p. 12), even consulted by the
Divine Architect when lie was planning the Universe
(ibid.) and creating man (p. 76). The Torah had its home
in heaven and was entrusted to Israel because the other
nations refused to accept its teaching (p. 319). Some of the
precepts of the Torah were kept in heaven by God and
the Angels (pp. 137 f.), and also by Adam and the patriarchs
(pp. 126, 143, 204) prior to the revelation on Sinai.
The love or goodness of God impelled Him to the creation
of man (p. 76). The belief in original sin is not coimtenanced
(pp. 158 f.). Moral evil was brought into the world by
Sammael (p. 158) and the offspring of the fallen angels
(pp. 160 f.). The angelology in our book is interesting on
account of its connection with the Pseudepigrapha. Michael,
Sammael (with whom Azazel is identified), demons and
merciful angels, the fall of the angels. Cherubim, Chajjoth,
Seraphim, and the heavenly host, are all dealt with. The
Index will enable the reader to find our author's views on
this theme.
The ethical tone is excellently expressed in the chapter
on the Two Ways (pp. 102 f.). The duty of loving service is
set forth in two chapters (pp. 106 ff.) and in many passages
INTRODUCTION Ivii
throughout the book. The sacredness of human Hfe (pp.
176, 386) is emphasized. The day of judgment and retri-
bution is not forgotten (p. 416), The vakie of repentance
is dealt with in a special chapter (pp. 337 ff.). There are
chapters devoted to eschatology (pp. 410 ff.) and the resur-
rection (pp. 252 ff.). For references to God, Shekhinah, the
Divine throne, Messiah, Leviathan and Behemoth, Gehenna
and Paradise, the future world and death, the reader can
consult the Index.
The quotations from the O.T. are given according to
the chapters and verses in the Revised Version. This
translation has frequently been modified in order to express
the Haggadic interpretation of our author. The quota-
tions in the original are rarely given in full, but in order
to understand the teaching in question the entire verse
should be read. To facilitate reference the source of every
Biblical quotation is given, a labour already done by
Vorstius and Luria. The headings at the head of each
chapter have been added by the present writer. Most
of the printed editions contain a summary of the contents
of each chapter. The method of transliteration adopted
has not been uniformly followed, especially when a name
is well known by reason of appearing in the Revised Version,
e.g. Eliezer. The R.V. names have generally been retained.
The letter n is represented by ch, D by t, 2 by kh, 3 by fe,
p by k, T by 2, ^f by z, V by '.
ABBREVIATIONS EMPLOYED
IN NOTES
A.T. =Altes Testament.
A.N.C.L. = Ante-Nicene Christian
Library.
Apoc. = Apocalypse.
A. and P. —Apocrypha and Pseudepi-
grapha, ed. Charles (Oxford).
A.R.W. =Archiv fiir Religionswis-
senschaft.
Bacher, T. =Bacher's Agada der
Tannaiten.
Bacher, Terminologie = Bacher's Die
alteste Terminologie der judischen
Schriftauslegung.
B.H.M. = Beth Ha-Midrash.
B.M. = British Museum.
C,= column.
C.E. = Common Era.
Comm. = Commentary.
C.W. = Cohn, Wendland.
D.B. = Dictionary of the Bible,
d. R.=de Rabbi,
ed. =: edition,
eds. = editions.
Enc. Bib. = Encyclopedia Biblica.
E.T.= English Translation.
Eth. = Ethiopic.
Geiger, Was hat Mohammed =
Geiger's Was hat Mohammed
aus dem Judentume aufgenom-
men?
Ginzberg, Die Haggada = Ginzberg's
Die Haggada bei dem Kirchen-
vatern.
Grtinbaum, Beitrage = Griinbaum's
Neue Beitrage zur Semitischen
Sagenkunde.
G.T. = German Translation.
G.V. = Die Gottesdienstlichen Vor-
trage.
I. C. C. = International Critical Com-
mentary.
Jahrbucher = Jahrbucher fiir jiidische
Geschichte.
J. E.= Jewish Encyclopedia.
J. Q.R. = Jewish Quarterly Re-
view.
Lazarus, Ethik = Lazarus' Die Ethik
des Judentums.
LXX = Septuagint Version.
M. = Mangey.
Monatsschrift — Monatsschrift fiir Ges-
chichte und Wissenschaft des Ju-
dentums.
MS. = Manuscript.
M.T. = Massoretic text.
N. H.W.B. =Neuhebraisches Worter-
buch.
N.T. =New Testament.
O.T.=01d Testament.
p., pp. = page, pages.
Pal. Targum = Palestinian Targum
(Pseudo- Jonathan).
Pesh. =Peshitta.
P.R.E. =Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer.
R. = Rabbi or Rabban.
Rab. =Rabbah.
Real-Ency. s. = Real Encyclopadie
Supplementband.
R.E.J. = Revue des Etudes Juives.
R. V. = Revised Version.
Schechter, Aspects = Schechter's
Aspects of Rabbinic Theology.
Schiirer = Schurer's Geschichte des
judischen Volkes.
lix
1
X
ABBREVIATIONS IN NOTES
Singer = Authorized Daily Prayer
Book.
Slav, = Slavonic.
T. = Testament.
T.A. = Talmudische Archaologie
(Krauss).
Targ. =Targum.
T. B. = Babylonian Talmud.
T.D. =Targum Dictionary.
Test. XII Pat. := Testaments of the
Twelve Patriarchs.
T.J.^Talmud of Jerusalem (Pales-
tinian Talmud).
Z.A.T.W. =Zeitschrift fur die A.T.
Wissenschaft.
Z.D.M.G. = Zeitschrift der Deutschen
Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft.
Z.f.N.T. Wissensch — Zeitschrift fiir
die Neutestamentliche Wissen.
schaft.
Zur Gesch. =Zur Geschichte
(Zunz).
THE CHAPTERS OF
RABBI ELIEZER THE GREAT ^
CHAPTER I
RABBI ELIEZER AND THE TORAH " [1b. i.J
The following befell Rabbi Eliezer, son of Hyrkanos. His
father had many ploughmen ^ who were ploughing arable
ground/ whereas he was ploughing a stony plot ; he sat
down and wept. His father said to him : O my son ! Why
1 Also called " Baraitha of Rabbi Eliezer " ; see supra, Introduction,
and cf. Zunz, G.V., p. 283, Weiss, Dor Dor veDorshav, iii. p. 290, and
Hamburger, Real-Ency. s. 11. i. pp. 162 ff., on the P.R.E. The first two
chapters are probably a later addition to the Midrash contained in the
rest oi the " Chapters." They form a very good introduction to this
pseudepigraphic book, which was attributed to the famous teacher.
Rabbi EUezer the Great. The third chapter opens with the name of
Rabbi Eliezer. The MS. fragment of our book in the British Museum
which Horowitz has edited in his Sarnmlung Kleiner Midraschim, i. 4 flf.,
begins with the third chapter. The same fact obtains in some of the
fragments contained in the Bodleian Library. For the biography of
Rabbi Eliezer ben Hj'rkanos see Bacher, T. i. pp. 96 fi., and/.£. v. 113 ff.,
where a bibhography is added. Our " Chapters " contain about twenty
dicta attributed to R. EUezer; see Bacher, op. cit. pp. 122 f., who con-
siders all these sayings as pseudepigraphic. The subject-matter of the
first two chapters of our book is to be found in Aboth d. R. Nathan
(a) vi., {b) xiii., Jalkut, Gen. §72, and Gen. Rab. xhi. (in the new
edition of Theodor, cli. xh., where further parallels are given in the
notes on p. 397). Various recensions of the first two chapters have
been published by Horo%vitz, Beth 'Eked Ha-Hagadoth, pp. 7 fi.
■- 2 The headings to the chapters have been added by the translator.
The numbers in the square brackets after the headings indicate the
pages and columns of the MS.
3 Gen. Rab. xlii. i and Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit., read: " his brethren
were ploughing in the plain, whereas he was ploughing on the mountain."
The 1st and 2nd eds. omit the word " many."
* Lit. " were ploughing upon the surface of the furrow." Cf. Ps,
cxxix. 3 for the word " furrows."
2 RABBI ELIEZER
dost thou weep ? Art thou perchance distressed because
thou dost plough a stony plot ? In the past thou hast
ploughed a stony plot/ now behold thou shalt plough with
us arable soil.- He sat down on the arable ground and
wept. His father said to him : But why dost thou weep ?
Art thou perchance distressed because thou art ploughing
the arable land ? He replied to him : No. (Hyrkanos)
said to him : Why dost thou weep ? He answered him : I
weep only because I desire to learn Torah.^ (Hyrkanos) said
to him : Verily thou art twenty-eight years old ^ — yet dost
thou desire to learn Torah ? Nay, go, take thee a wife and
beget sons and thou wilt take them to the school.'' He
fasted two weeks ^ not tasting 1| anything, until Elijah ^ —
may he be remembered for good ^ — appeared to him and
said to him : Son of Hyrkanos ! Why dost thou weep ?
He replied to him : Because I desire to learn Torah. (Elijah)
said to him : If thou desirest to learn Torah get thee up to
Jerusalem to Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai.^ He arose and
went up to Jerusalem to R. Jochanan ben Zakkai and sat
down and wept. (R. Jochanan) said to him : Why dost
thou weep ? He answered him : Because I wish to learn
1 These words are omitted in the ist and 2nd eds.
'^ This would be easier labour. At this point the MS. adds the
second letter of the Hebrew alphabet to signify the beginning of the
second paragraph. The ist and 2nd eds. omit " with us."
^ Torah is not merely the written word of God, but also its oral
interpretation. The term sums up all that is implied by Religion and
Ethics.
* Aboth d. R. Nathan (a) vi. reads " 22 years," and cf. ibid, (b) xiii.
* Thy merit will be accounted as though thou didst study the
Torah ; see T.B. Kiddushin, 30a, for this doctrine. The second
paragraph in MS. ends here.
* " He was distressed for three weeks " is the reading in Aboth d.
R. Nathan (b) xiii. On " weeks" see Krauss, T.A. ii. pp. 422 f. ; and
note 784.
' On Elijah in Rabbinical literature see J.E. v. 122 ff. In our
work the Elijah story and legends are treated at considerable length.
In Christian books Elijah also appears ; see Mark ix. 4 ff . and Matt. xvii.
II. In the Gospel of Barnabas (124a) Elijah rebukes a man for weeping.
See also Coptic Apocrypha, ed. Budge, p. 265, for a further parallel.
Elijah is the " comforter " in Jewish and Christian literature, and in
this capacity he is the forerunner of the Messiah.
* On this expression sec Zunz, Zur Gesch. pp. 321 ff.
* The greatest teacher of his day, who preserved J udaism in spite of
the overthrow of the Jewish State by the Romans, in the year 70 c.E.
For his biography see Bacher, T. i. pp. 22 If., and J.E. vii. 214 ff.
Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, iv. pp. ii ff., Schiirer, ii. 366 ff., and
Schlatter's biography should be consulted.
RABBI ELIEZER AND THE TORAH 3
Torah. (R. Jochanan) said to him : Whose son art thou ?
But he did not tell him.
(R. Jochanan) asked him : Hast thou never learnt i to
read the Shema,^ or the Tephillah,^ or the Grace after
meals ? ^ He replied to him : No. He arose ^ and (R.
Jochanan) taught him the three (prayers).*' (Again) he
sat down and wept. (R. Jochanan) said to him : My son,
why dost thou weep ? He replied : Because I desire to
learn Torah.' He (thereupon) taught him two rules (of
the Law) ^ every day of the week, and on the Sabbath ^
(Eliezer) repeated them and assimilated them.^*' He kept a
fast for eight days without tasting anything until the odour
of his mouth attracted the attention of R. Jochanan ben
Zakkai, who directed him to withdraw from his presence.
He sat down and wept. (R. Jochanan) said to him : My
son, why dost thou weep ? He rejoined : Because thou
didst make me withdraw from thy presence just as a man
makes his fellow withdraw, when the latter is afflicted with
leprosy. (R. Jochanan) said to him : My son, just as || the
odour of thy mouth has ascended before me, so may the
savour of the statutes of the Torah ascend from thy mouth
to Heaven. 1^ He said to him : My son ! Whose son art thou ?
1 Aboth d. R. Nathan {b) xiii. reads : " Didst thou never go to
school ? "
- The " Shema " is the Jewish confession of faith. It is set fortli
in Deut. vi. 4-9, etc. ; see Singer, pp. 40 ff., and J.E. xi. 266.
* The " Tephillah " or " Shemoneh 'Esreh," tlie Jewish prayer
par excellence, is to be found in Singer, pp. 44 ff. ; see R.£,.J . xix.
pp. 17 ff., and J.E. xi. 270 ff. Our " Chapters" deal with the subject-
matter of the " Shemoneh 'Esreh " ; cf. Zunz, G. V., p. 285, and S. Sachs
in " Ha-Techiyah," pp. 21 f. On the question as to the relation between
Sirach and the " Shemoneh 'Esreh " see Oesterley's edition of
Ecclesiasticus, pp. 232 and 349 f.
* The Genizah Fragment has : " the reading of the Grace after
meals." On Grace after meals see Singer, pp. 280 ff., and J .E. vi. 61 f.
* The student stood whilst learning; see T.B. Megillah, 21a. The
1st and 2nd eds. read : " He said. Stand, and I will teach thee the
three (prayers)."
* In the MS. the fourth paragraph begins here.
' And not merely prayers.
* " Halakhoth," i.e. laws to be observed by the Jews, based upon the
Torah. Thus, according to Matt. xii. 1-8, Jesus discusses Halakhah.
The final decisions become Halakhoth ; cf. Mark vii. 5 and Luke xi.
40 f. See Bacher, Terminologie, i. s.v. n^hn, pp. 42 f.
" The first two editions omit " on the Sabbath."
1° In the MS. this is the end of the fourth paragraph.
"In Aboth d. R. Nathan (b) xiii. the reading is: " So may the
teaching of thy mouth go forth from one end of the world to the other."
4 RABBI ELTEZER
He replied : I am the son of Hyrkanos. Then said (R.
Jochanan) : Art thou not the son of one of the great men
of the world, ^ and thou didst not tell me ? By thy life !
he continued, This day shalt thou eat with me.- (Eliezer)
answered : I have eaten already with my host.^ (R. Jochanan)
asked : Who is thy host ? He replied : R. Joshua ben Chan-
anjah^ and R. Jose the Priest.^
(R. Jochanan) sent to inquire of his hosts, saying to
them : Did Eliezer eat with you this day ? They answered :
No ; moreover has he not fasted eight days without tasting
any food ? '• R. Joshua ben Chananjah and R. Jose the
Priest ' went and said ^ to R. Jochanan ben Zakkai : Verily
during the last eight days (Eliezer) has not partaken of any
food.^
1 Hyrkanos was a very wealthy man.
2 In MS. the sixth paragraph begins here.
^ Akhsania i^evia), hospitality, lodging, host. According to Aboth
d. R. Natlian (a) vi., Eliezer was silent when R. Jochanan asked him
whether he had partaken of food.
* See Bachcr, T. i. pp. 123 ff., and J.E. vii. 290 ff.
* See Bachcr. T. i. pp. 67 ff., and J.E. vii. 243 ff.
* Here begins the seventh paragraph in the MS. The Genizah
Fragment continues : " Moreover."
' Aboth d. R. Nathan (b) xiii. adds : " R. Simeon ben Nathaniel."
' Some of the old printed editions read here : " Has he not been
without food for the last eight days ? " Luria, in loc, thinks that the
last clause was spoken by R. Jochanan to the Rabbis who visited him,
telling them that Eliezer had not eaten at his table. Aboth d. R.
Nathan (Inc. cit.) refers to R. Jochanan's grief at this neglect, which
might have cost Eli^zer's life.
* The Genizah Fragment adds : " And he compelled him to eat
and to drink, and on the morrow " (also).
CHAPTER II
R. ELIEZER AND HIS BRETHREN [2a. i.]
The sons of Hyrkanos said to their father: Get thee rip
to Jerusalem and vow that thy son Eliezer should not enjoy
any of thy possessions.^ He went up to Jerusalem to
disinherit him, and it happened that a festival was being
celebrated there by R. Jochanan ben Zakkai. All the
magnates of the district were dining with him ; (such as)
Ben Zizith Hakkeseth,- Nicodemus ben Gorion,^ and Ben
Kalba S'bu a.^ 1|
Why was his name called Ben Zizith Hakkeseth ? Be-
cause he reclined at table in a higher position than the other
magnates of Jerusalem.^ Concerning Nicodemus ben Gorion,
people said that he had (stored) provisions containing 3 S'ah ^
of fine flour for every inhabitant of Jerusalem. When the
1 Lit. " and ban thy son Eliezer from thy possessions." The
Genizah Fragment reads: "to put him in the ban." The brothers
claimed that Eliezer should be disinherited because he had left his old
father without permission. For a parallel text see Gen. Rab. xlii.
(ed. Theodor, p. 398), Aboth d. R. Nathan (a) vi. Was it the custom to
resort to the Synhedrion in order to disinherit one's son ?
2 See Lam. Rab. i. 5 (31), Eccles. Rab. to Eccles. vii. 11, and T.B.
Gittin, 56a. According to the Talmud (loc. cit.) the name Ben Zizith
Hakkeseth was due to his intercourse {Rise, i.e. seat) with the great
men of Rome.
^ See J .E. ix. 300, where the reference to T.B. Ta'anith should be
emended to 20a.
* Ben Kalba S'bu a, this name is the result of a pun. According to
T.B. Gittin, loc. cit., anyone who came to him even as hungry as a dog
{keleb) was dismissed fully satisfied {sat) a).
^ T.B. Gittin, loc. cit., gives another explanation of this name, due to
the tradition that the fringes {Zizith) of the man's garments were
hanging over the cushions of his seat. The ' Arukh (ed. Kohut, vii. 40a,
s.v.) appears to have had a text of our passage in accordance with the
Talmudic reading, but unlike our text.
* S'ah, a dry measure, the size of which is held to equal 12-148 litres
or io'696 qts. The Genizah Fragment reads " three years " instead
of " three S'ah."
6 RABBT ELIRZER
zealots ' arose and burnt all the storehouses, they measured
and found that he had had provisions for three years for every
inhabitant in Jerusalem. ^ Concerning Ben Kalba S'bu'a
it was told that he had a house measuring 4 Kors ^ with
roofs covered with gold. ' The people said (to R. Jochanan) :
Behold, the father of R. Eliezer has arrived. He bade them
saying : Prepare a place for him, and seat him next to us.^
(R. Jochanan) fixed his gaze ® on R. Eliezer, saying to him,'
Tell us some words ^ of the Torah. (R. Eliezer) answered
him saying : Rabbi ! ^ I will tell thee a parable. To what is
the matter like ? To this well which cannot yield more
water than the amount which it has drawn (from the
earth) ; likewise am I unable to speak words of the Torah
in excess of what I have received from thee.^"
(R. Jochanan) said to him, I will (also) tell thee a parable.
To what is the matter like ? To this fountain which is
bubbling and sending forth its water, and it is able to effect
a discharge more powerful || than what it secretes ; in like
manner art thou able to speak words of the Torah in excess of
what Moses ^^ received at Sinai. (R. Jochanan) continued :
Lest thou shouldst feel ashamed on my account, behold I
* On the Zealots or Sicarii see Josephus, Wars, iw 3. q ff.
* This passage is missing in the printed editions, but it occurs in the
Genizah Fragment.
^ The Kor is assumed by Gesenius (Oxford ed. p. 499) to be the
same as the Chomer, which was thirty times the S'ah. On these measures
see Enc. Bib. iv. 5294 ff.
* The first printed editions read : " gardens crushed with gold." Luria
reads : " he had a palace with an area covering 4 Kors, all the beams
were overlaid with gold." He thinks that the text should read : " he
had a palace covering 4 Kors with treasuries containing gold." The
MS. seems to have preserved the true reading, which is also the reading
in the Genizah Fragment.
*e>'
* The 1st and 2nd eds. read : " They prepared a place for him and
seated him next to him " (i.e. R. Jochanan). The Genizah Fragment
reads: " and seat him next to yourselves ; they prepared a place for
him and placed him next to him " (R. Jochanan). In the MS. the
first paragraph ends here.
'For this expression see T.B. Synhedrin, iia: "the sages fixed
their gaze upon Hillel the Elder."
' The Genizah Fragment adds : " O my son ! "
* Lit. " One word."
* Perhaps " Rabban " would be more correct. The MS. uses an
abbreviation.
^° Sec Aboth ii. 10, where Eliezer is described as a " plastered
cistern which loses not a drop," and cf. Taylor's note on p. 34 of his
(2nd) edition of Abolh. The second paragraph ends here in the MS.
" The 1st and 2nd eds. read, " they received."
R. ELIEZER AND HIS BRETHREN 7
will arise and go away from thee. Rabban Jochanan ben
Zakkai arose and went outside. (Thereupon) R. Eliezer
sat down and expounded. ^ His face shone like the light of
the sun and his effulgence beamed forth like that of Moses,^
so that no one knew whether it was day or night. ^ They
went and said to Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai : Come and
see R. Eliezer sitting and expounding, his face shining like
the light of the sun and his effulgence beaming like that of
Moses, so that no one knows whether it be day or night.*
He came from (his place) behind him ^ and kissed him on
his head, saying to him : Happy are ye, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, because this one has come forth from your
loins.
Hyrkanos his father said : To whom does (R. Jochanan)
speak thus ? The people answered : To Eliezer thy son.
He said to them : (R. Jochanan) should not have spoken in
that manner, but (in this wise), " Happy am I because he
has come forth from my loins." Whilst R. Eliezer was
sitting and expounding, his father was standing upon his
feet. When || (Eliezer) saw his father standing upon his feet,
he became agitated and said to him : My father ! be seated,
for I cannot utter the words of the Torah when thou art
standing on thy feet.*^ (Hyrkanos) replied to him : My son,
it was not for this reason that I came, but my intention was
to disinherit thee. Now that I have come and I have
1 According to Gen. Rab. xlii. i., the text of Eliezer's exposition
was Ps. xxxvii. 14, " The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have
bent their bow ; to cast down the poor and needy, to slay such as
be upright in the way." The brothers of EUezer might possibly be
described in the terms of this text.
2 The reference is to Ex. xxxiv. 35, " And the skin of Moses' face
shone." See also Eccles. viii. i.
^ The third paragraph ends here.
* This sentence is wanting in the printed editions. There seems
to be some confusion in the text. The MS. concludes here the fourth
paragraph.
* According to Aboth d. R. Nathan (6) xiii. R. Jochanan had gone
forth from the assembly so as not to embarrass R. Eliezer. While
Eliezer is expounding, R. Joshua and R. Simeon ben Nathaniel leave
the assembly to find R. Jochanan, to whom they say, " Come and see!
R. Eliezer is 'sitting and expounding things more profoundly than
(the things) told to Moses at Sinai." For another instance of kissing
by the same teacher see T.B. Chagigah, 14b.
* It would be disrespectful for a son to sit in the presence of his
parent, who would be standing; cf. T.B. Kiddushin, 33b, where this
theme is discussed.
8 RABBI ELIEZER
witnessed all this praise ; behold thy brothers are dis-
inherited and their portion is given to thee as a gift.^
(Eliezer) replied : Verily I am not equal to one of them.^
If I had asked the Holy One, blessed be He, for land, it would
be possible for Him to give this to me, as it is said, " The
earth is the Lord's, and the fidness thereof" (Ps. xxiv. 1).
Had I asked the Holy One, blessed be He, for silver and
gold, He could have given them to me, as it is said, " The
silver is mine, and the gold is mine " ^ (Hag. ii. 8). But I
asked the Holy One, blessed be He, that I might be worthy
(to learn the) Torah only, as it is said, "• Therefore I esteem
all precepts concerning all things to be right ; and I hate
every false way " (Ps. cxix. 128).
' The fifth paragraph ends here in the MS.
• This section to the end of the chapter is to be found in Jalkut
Makhiri to Psalms (Ps. cxix.), § 77, with sUght variations in the reading.
The last sentence reads : " But I prayed to Him only that I might be
found worthy, as it is said, ' Therefore I esteem all precepts,' " etc.
* The ist ed. and subsequent editions continue the rest of the verse,
but a strange error has crept into their texts ; they read " amar " instead
of " n'um," which is the actual reading in Haggai. This error is also
in the Talmud (B.) Kiddushin, 82b.
CHAPTER nil
PREMUNDANE CREATION, AND THE WORK OF THE FIRST DAY
[2b. ii.]
R. Eliezer 2 BEN Hyrkanos opened ^ (his discourse with
the text), " Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord, or *
shew forth all his praise ? " (Ps. cvi. 2).^ Is there any
man ^ who can utter the mighty acts of the Holy One,
blessed be He, or who can shew forth all His praise ? '
Not even the ministering angels ^ are able to narrate (the
Divine praise). But to investigate a part of His mighty
deeds with reference to what He has done, and what He
will do in the future (is permissible), so that His name
should be exalted among His creatures, whom He has
1 This is probably the beginning of the Baraitha or Pirke de R.
Eliezer. The Chronicles of Jerahmeel begin with this section of our
work. The following chapters up to Chapter XI. form a treatise
dealing with Maaseh Bereshith (The Work of^the Creation) and Ma aseh
Merkabah (The theme of God s Chariot) . Cosmological and theosophical
themes were favourite ones in the school of R. Eliezer 's famous teacher,
R. Jochanan ben Zakkai ; see T.B. Chagigah, 14b, for the story of R.
Jochanan ben Zakkai listening to R. Elazar ben 'Arakh expounding the
Maaseh Merkabah.
^ This gives the title to the book.
' i.e. explained (the text).
* The Venice edition and several later editions are at variance with
the actual text of the psalm by adding " and who," which is not in
the Biblical quotation. The quotation is correctly given in B.M. MS.
and in the first printed text (Constantinople, 1514).
* See Jalkut, in loc.
* The printed editions add . " in the world."
' See T.B. Megillah, i8a, for the view that the one who utters the
praise of God to excess will be taken from the world, based on
Job xxxvii. 20. Cf. Slav. Enoch xxiv. 3.
* The ministering angels are identified by Siphre (Deut. § 306, end)
with " the sons of Elohim " of Job i. 6, and they are probably to be
identified with " the angels of sanctification " mentioned in the Book
of Jubilees ii. 2, 18 ; cf. Eth. Enoch Ixi. 10 ff. For " the heavenly
host praising God " see Luke ii. 13, and for angelology see J.E. i.
5832-
10 RABBI ELIEZER
created, from one end of the world || to the other, as it is
said, "■ One generation to another shall laud thy works "
{ibid. cxlv. 4).^
Before the world was created, the Holy One, blessed be
He, with His Name - alone existed, and the thought arose
in Him to create the world. He began to trace (the founda-
tions of)'"' the world before Himself, but it would not stand.
They ' told a parable. To what is the matter like ? To a
king who wshes to build a palace ^ for himself. If he
had not traced in the earth its foundations, its exits and
its entrances,^ he does not begin to build.' Likewise the
Holy One, blessed be He, was tracing (the plans of) the
world before Himself, but it did not remain standing until
He created repentance.^
Seven things ^ were created before the world was created.
' Our text has been used by Jalkut, Psalms, § 864. Here ends the
first paragraph in MS.
^ On the Tetragrammaton see Nestle, Z.D.M.G. xxxii. ; Fiirst, ibid.
xxxiii. ; and Nager, ibid. xxxv. The printed editions read here: " The
Holy One, blessed be He, and His great Name." On " God and His
Name " see D. H. Joel's die Religionsphilosophie da Sohar, p. 235.
•• The words in brackets are based on B.M. MS., which reads : " He
traced its foundations, its exits and entrances, on the earth, but it did
not stand firm until He created repentance, because seven (things)
were created before the world."
* i.e. the Rabbis.
* Paltin = iraKdTLov , paLitium, palace.
* The phraseology is based on Ezek. xliii. 11. The printed editions
reverse the order and read : " its entrances and its exits."
' The architect's plans must be prepared prior to the erection of
the building. What holds good for our earthly experience is assumed
to have its counterpart in the experience of the Creator. Philo {de
Mundi opiftc. 4. i. M. 4, C.W. i. p. 4, ij 19) offers a good parallel to the
idea of preparing plans prior to the Creation ; see also Gen. Rab. i. i.
and my Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 4.
* Repentance is the sole condition whereby harmony, divine and
human, can obtain, of. Wisdom xii. 10, 10. On the subject of Repent-
ance see J.E. X. 376 ff. Lazarus, Ethik, i. pp. 44 1., and Schechter,
Aspects, see index, s.v. " Repentance" and "Penitence," and cf. my
Grace of God, pp. 30 ff. The second paragraph in the MS. ends here.
" This passage is borrowed from T.B. Pesachim, 54a, or T.B.
Nedarim, 39b, the order being varied by Repentance coming after the
Torah. See also Jalkut on Jeremiah. § 298, and cf. Gen. Rab. i. 4 (Theo-
dor, p. 6 note, iti loc.) and Tanna dc be Elijahu Rab. xxxi. p. 160, where
only six subjects are enumerated. Fricdmann (note 33, in loc.) points
out that by comparing the various readings in Talmud and Midrash
we find that there were nine prcmundane things, cf. Zohar. L< v. 34b.
It is important to bear in mind, in reading Gen. Rab. i. 4. that of
the six prcmundane things some were actually created and .some were
only ideally present in the mind of the Creator. The Torah and the
Throne of Glory were created, but the patriarchs, Israel, the Temple,
PREMUNDANE CREATION 11
They are : The Torah, Gehinnom, the Garden of Eden,^ the
Throne of Glory, the Temple, Repentance, and the Name
of the Messiah.
Whence do we know that this applies to the Torah ?
Because it is said, " The Lord possessed me ■^ in the beginning
of his way, before his works of old" (Prov. viii. 22). "Of
old " ^ means before the world was created.'* Whence do
we know this with regard to the Garden of Eden ? Because
it is said, " And the Lord God planted a garden of old " ^
(Gen. ii. 8). " Of old," whilst as yet the world had not
been created. Whence do we know this with reference
to the Throne of Glory ? ^ Because it is said, " Thy throne
is established of old " (Ps. xciii. 2). " Of old," whilst as
yet the world had not been created. Whence do we know
and the Name of the Messiah were only in the thought of God. In
the Book of Enoch (Ethiopic) xlviii. 3, the Messiah is said to have had
his name named before the sun and the signs were created ; see my
Hellenism and Christianity, pp. 15 ft., on the question of the pre-existence
of the Messiah, and cf. Assump'.ion of Moses i. 14.
1 The " Garden of Eden " is usually rendered by the term Paradise.
The fact that Gehenna is in juxtaposition to " Gan Eden " would lead
one to infer that Paradise was referred to in this context. Our author
is probably opposing the view that the Garden of Eden was created
on the " third day " ; see Jubilees ii. 7.
2 The verse might be rendered : " The Lord formed me as the begin-
ning of his way." The reference is to Wisdom, which is here personified ;
see Hellenism and Christianity , pp. 64 ft. Christianity under the
influence of Alexandrian Jewish thought identified Wisdom with its
Messiah, whilst Palestinian Judaism identified Wisdom with the Torah.
2 The ist ed. and later editions derive the inference from the word
" before."
*" Whence do we know this with reference to Gehinnom ? Because
it is said, ' For a Topheth is prepared of old ' (Isa. xxx. 33). ' Of
old ' means whilst yet the world had not been created." This paragraph
is omitted by the MS., but it occurs in the ist ed. Topheth was
a place in the Hinnom Valley {i.e. Ge-henna or Ge-Hinnom) where
the hateful and cruel Moloch abominations had been perpetrated ; see
W. R. Smith, Religion of the Semites, p. 357. The Tanna de be Elijahu
Rab., loc. cit., says: "Topheth is nought else but Gehinnom." See
also Schwally, Z.A.T.W., 1890, pp. 212 ff.
° See R.V. in loc. Our Midrashic passage occurs as follows in the
Pal. Targum of Gen. ii. 8 : " And a garden from the Eden of the just
was planted by the Word of the Lord God before the creation of
the world." This Haggadah appears also in Jerome ; see Diestel,
Geschichte des A.T. in der Christlichen Kirche, p. 102, and Rahmer,
Die Hebrdischen Traditionen in den Werken des Hieronymtts, p. 17.
See also 4 Ezra iii. 6, which states : " And thou leddest him (Adam)
into Paradise, which thy right hand did plant before ever the earth
came forward." On Paradise see J.E. ix. pp. 516 f.
' The Throne of Glory as premundane occurs in Slavonic Enoch
XXV. 4, where God says, " And I made for myself a throne . . . and I
said to the light," etc. ; see LXX Prov. viii. 27.
12 RABBI ELIEZER
that Repentance (was premundanc) ? Because it is said,
" Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou
hadst formed the earth and the world " {ibid. xc. 2) ; ^
and then in close proximity (we read), " Thou turncst man
to contrition " {ibid. 3). " Before," i.e. before || the world
was created. Whence do we know this with regard to the
Temple ? Because it is said, " A glorious throne, set on
high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary "
(Jer, xvii. 12). " From the beginning," whilst as yet the
world had not been created.- Whence we do know that the
name of the Messiah (was premundane) ? Because it is said,
" His name shall endure for ever ; before the sun Yinnon
was his name " (Ps. Ixxii. 17).^ " Yinnon," before the
world had been created. Another verse says, " But thou,
Bethlehem Ephrathah,^ which art to be least among the
thousands of Judah, from thee shall he come forth unto
me who is to be ruler over Israel ; whose ancestry belongs
to the past, even to the days of old '" " (Mic. v. 2). " The
past," ^ whilst as yet the world had not been created.
P^orthwith " the Holy One, blessed be He, took counsel
with the Torah whose name is Tushijah (Stability or
Wisdom) with reference to the creation of the world. (The
Torah) replied and said to Him : Sovereign of the worlds !
^ The translation in the Revised Version might be consulted, in order
to see how the Midrashic point of view, based on a literal translation,
agrees with or differs from the ordinary interpretation. In the ist ed.
this section follows that dealing with the Temple.
^ The premundane or Heavenly Temple was known to the writer of
the Epistle to the Hebrews, ix. ii, who speaks of the " greater and
more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of
this creation." See Wisdom ix. S, and Odes ol Sol n\\o:\ W. 3. Mai-
monides. Guide 1. ix., discusses our them'.'. See also Menorath Ha-Maor,
Introduction to the fourth book, where we are cautioned not to take
the words in this passage in their literal meaning.
^ The R.V. reads : " His name shall be continued as long as (or,
" before ") the sun." For Yinnon as a Messianic name see T.B.
Synhedrin, 98b, and infra, p. 233. The Midrashic interpretation
in our tc xt pccurs already in LXX, in loc. : " His name endures before
the sun."
■* The rest of the quotation is missing in the MS.
* This quotation, a second one to justify the idea that the name of
the Messiah was premundane, is omitted by the Menorath Ha-Maor,
loc. cit. It is not given by the Talmud. On this verse in Micah see
Hellenism and Christianity, pii. 5!.
* " The past " is the same word which was rendered " of old "
(Gen. ii. 8) quoted above.
' In the MS. the fourth paragraph begins here. On the theme see
Wisdom IX. 9 f .
PREMUNDANE CREATION 13
if there be no host for the king ^ and if there be no camp
for the king, over Avhom does he rule ? If there be no
people to praise the king, where is the honour of the king ?
The Holy One, blessed be He, heard this and it pleased
Him. The Torah spake : The Holy One, blessed be He,
took counsel with me concerning the creation of the world,
as it is said, " Counsel is mine, and sound knowledge ; ^
I am understanding ; I have might " (Prov. viii. 14).
Hence they ^ say. Every government which has no counsellors
is not a proper government.^ Whence do Ave know this?
From the government of the House of David which employed
counsellors, as it is said, " And Jonathan David's uncle ^
was a counsellor, a man of understanding, and a scribe "
(1 Chron. xxvii. 32). If the government of the House of
David had counsellors, how much more so should other
people act likewise. This is of benefit to them, as it is
said, " But he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise "
(Prov. xii. 15), || and (Scripture) says, " But in the multitude
of counsellors there is safety " [ibid. xi. 14).
Eight ^ things were created on the first day, namely,
1 This is quoted in Ginzberg's Geonica, ii. p. 88.
* The idea of Wisdom or the Torah being with God prior to the
Creation is generally assumed to be expressed in the famous passage
verses 22-31 of this eighth chapter of Proverbs. This is, however, a
mistaken view ; see Hellenism and Christianity, pp. 65 £f. The source
is rather to be found in the LXX Prov. viii. 30. Our Midrashic
passage is based on Gen. Rab. i. i. ; see also Jalkut on Prov. viii. 14, § 941,
and see Bacher, P. i. p. 107 (note), who refers to the parallel in Philo.
^ The 1st ed. reads : " The wise men."
* Might one infer from this passage that the writer of P.R.E. was
living in a land where the regime was not conducted in accordance with
the rule laid down ? Perhaps the reference is to the rule of the Moham-
medans in Palestine, Egypt, or Babylon.
^ The 1st and 2nd eds. have the reading " the son of David." This
is an error.
* The fifth paragraph in the MS. begins here. These eight things
are almost identical with the seven things enumerated in Jubilees
ii. 2, if " the abysses " of the latter correspond to the " Chaos and
Void " of our text. See Jerahmeel i. 3, which is based on our text.
This suggested identification seems to be warranted by the fact that
Philo {loc. cit. 7) agrees with the enumeration in our text and Jubilees
in the following six objects of creation : heaven, earth, darkness, water,
spirit, and light. As the seventh object created on the first day he
gives the abyss. This is also the reading in the Midrash Tadsheh vi.,
where Tehomoth= abyss. It seems that Philo knew a cosmology
which was known to Jubilees, to Midrash Tadsheh, and to our author;
see Charles, Jubilees, pp. 11 f. T.B. Chagigah, 12a, which gives appropri-
ate quotations to support the view enunciated, enumerates ten things
as being created on the first day. Neither the Talmud nor P.R.E,
14 RABBI ELIEZER
Heaven, Earth, Light, Darkness, Tohii (Chaos), Bohu
(Void), Wind (or Spirit), and Water, as it is said, " And the
wind of God was moving upon the face of the waters "
(Gen. i. 2).i
mention Tehomoth, which is the equivalent to abyss, but they both
have Tohu and Bohu.
' nn can mean wind or spirit; Gen. i. 2 might be rendered, " And
a mighty wind." Is there any anci.-nt Rabbinic authority for the
translation in the R.V., " the spirit of God " ? See Bacher, 'i". i. p.
424. and cf. Philo, ed. Cohn, G.T. i. p. 36, n. 3. The following section
first appeared in the 2nd ed. (Venice, 1544) of P.R.E. :
" Some (wise men) say that day and night also,i as it is said, ' And
there was evening and morning, one day' (Gen. i. 5).
" Eight things were created on the second day, namely, the Well,*
the Manna, ^ the Rod,^ the Rainbow,^ the art of writing, the written
characters,^ the Garments,' and the destroying spirits. ^
"Ten things arose in the thought (of the Creator),* namely,
Jerusalem,^" the spirits of the patriarchs,^! the paths of the righteous,**
1 This is based on T.B. Chagigah, loc. cz/., which refers to the " measure
of the day and the measure of the night " ; cf. Jubilees ii. 2.
2 For the Well, see Num. xxi. 16 ff.; see also Pirke Aboth v. 9,
with Taylor's note, p. 84. Cf. Pal. Targum, Num. xxii. 28. There
seems to be considerable confusion here, because, according to Aboth
(loc. cit.), all the things enumerated in our text except the Garments
were created at twilight just before the first Sabbath. This tradi-
tion is recorded b}' our book, in/ra, pp. 124 f. ; see also T.B.
Pesachim, loc. cit.
^ On the Manna, see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 185 ff.
* On the Rod, see Ex. iv. 17, and cf. Abrahams, The Rod of Moses, the
Book of Jashar, Ixvii., and infra, p. 312.
^ On the Rainbow, see Gen. ix. 13.
* On the art of writing and the characters of the script, see Low,
Graphische Requisiten und Erzeugnisse bei den Juden, p. 3 and note 9,
where we learn that the text should be rendered, " the writing and the
instrument employed in writing." The writing on the tablets is men-
tioned in Ex. xxxii. 16.
' The Garments were those worn by Adam and Eve ; see Gen. iii. 21,
and the Book of Jashar, vii. ; the subject will arise in a later section of
our book. The Church also has its legends dealing with the seamless
tunic of its Founder.
* On the Mazzikin or evil spirits, see J.E. iv. 514 ff., and cf. T.B.
Pesachim, loc. cit., and Siphre, Deut. § 355, n. 10, for the source of the
entire paragraph.
* Here again we have a text which is faulty, inasmuch as Gehenna
and the Temple were reckoned among the premundane creation. The
writer has confused the tradition about the ten things created on the
eve of the first Sabbath at twilight with the premundane creation.
See Pal. Targ. Gen. ii. 2 and Aboth v. 9.
*'' The ideal heavenly Jerusalem of the O.T. (see Isa. xlix. 16) is
known also to the writers of the New Testament ; see Gal. iv. 26 and
Rev. iii. 12. The Jerahmeel MS. reads: "the place of the Temple."
See also Apoc. Baruch iv. 3, and Test. XII Pat., Dan v. 12.
11 See Hos. ix. 10, where the emphasis is to be put on the words
" first season " according to Gen. Rab. 1.4.
** For the expression see Prov. iv. 18, and cf. Gen. Rab. ii. 5.
PREMUNDANE CREATION 15
Whence were the heavens created ? From the Hght
of the garment with which He was robed. ^ He took (of
this Hght) and stretched it Hke a garment and (the heavens)
began to extend continually until He caused them to hear,
" It is sufficient." '^ Therefore is He called God Almighty
{El Shaddai), who said to the world : ^ " // is sufficient"
and it stood (firm). Whence do we know that the heavens
were created from the light of His garment ? Because it
is said, " Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment ;
who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain " (Ps. civ. 2). '
Whence was the earth created ? He took of the snow ^
Gehinnom/ the waters of the Flood,^ the second tables of the Law,^
the Sabbath,* the Temple/ the Ark,* and the light of the world to
come." '
This reading occurs in Jerahmeel i. 3, 4, but not in the B.M. MS. ot
P.R.E. The latter continues :" Whence was the water created ? From
the light of the garment of the Holy One, blessed be He. Light signifies
nought else but water, as it is said, ' He spreadeth abroad the cloud of
his light' " (Job xxxvii. 11).
1 See Ex. Rab. l. i. The idea of this Midrash is that God created
the heavens without any help from any intermediary. God alone is the
Creator. " The light of His robe " means His will or favour. The
world has been created by Divine love and favour for the benefit of
mankind, the children of the Heavenly Father.
2 See T.B. Chagigah, loc. cit., " This is what Resh Lakish also said :
What is the meaning of the words ' I am God Almighty ' (Shaddai) ? It
means I am He who (Sha) said to the world, ' It is suificient ' [dai)."
3 The printed editions read : " to the heavens."
* The second half of the verse is omitted in the MS. The fifth
paragraph ends here. Cf. also Ps. cii. 25, 26. The Church Fathers
discussed the creation narrative in much the same way as our author :
thus Athanasius in his exposition of the 103 rd Psalm (corresponding
to the Hebrew 104th Psalm) refers to the formation of the heavens in
the terms of the Old Testament writers ; see also Basil, Hexcsmeron, iii.
* See D. H. Joel, op. cit. pp. 321 ft., where a full discussion of this
passage is given and the views of Maimonides and the theories of the
Cabbalists are examined.
^ On the fire of Gehenna see infra, p. 20. Luria suggests that the
text should be emended so as to read, "the paths of the wicked," to
correspond with the expression " paths of the righteous."
2 In the days of Noah ; see Gen. Rab. ii. 3.
* See Ex. xxxiv. i : " Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the
first." The first tables were of heavenly origin (cf. ibid, xxxii. 16), so
also the second.
* Jubilees ii. 30 offers a parallel to our text, " We kept Sabbath
in the heavens before it was made known to any flesh to keep Sabbath
thereon on the earth."
* See I Kings viii. 13, and cf. supra, p. 12, note 2.
* Of the Sanctuary ; see Num. Rab. iv. 13. According to the Midrash,
the Ark represents the Th. one of Glory.
' See T.B. Chagigah, loc. 'it., and Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 8
and note 3.
16 RABBI ELIEZER
(or ice) which was beneath His Throne of Glory and threw
it upon the waters, and the waters became congealed so
that the dust of the earth was formed, as it is said, " He
saith to the snow, Be thou earth" (Job xxxvii. 6).^
The hooks - of the heavens are fixed in the waters of
the ocean. ^ The waters of the ocean are situated between
the ends of the heavens and the ends of the earth. The
ends of the heavens are spread out over the waters of the
ocean, as it is said, " Who laycth the beams of his chambers •*
in the waters" (Ps. civ. 3).''
The dome (or inside shape) of the heavens ascends upwards
Hke a tub,*' (that is to say) like a tent (denda) which is spread
out ' with its extremities (fixed) || downwards ^ and its dome
stretching upwards so that people can sit beneath it and
their feet stand on the earth, whilst all of them are inside
the tent ; in like wise are the heavens, their extremities
are (fixed) downwards and their dome stretches upwards
* See Tanchuma (Buber) Mikcz, i6. Our text seems to be based
upon T.J. Chagigah, ii. i. 77a, according to which the world was origin-
ally " Water in water." Then God made the water into snow (or ice) ;
see Ps. cxlvii. 16, 17. This p.salm in verse 15 speaks of God send-
ing out " his commandment upon (the) earth ; his word runneth very
swiftly " — pointing to the word of creation. See Bacher, P. iii. 218.
The verse quoted from Job (xxxvii. 6) is rendered by the R.V.,
" He saith to the snow, Fall thou on the earth." See also Sepher
Jezirah i. 11 for a parallel. See Isa. xl. 12 for the reference to the " dust
of the earth," and cf. T.B. Joma, 54b; Maimonides, Guide, ii., xxvi.,
and Midrash Konen, ed. Jellinek, B.H.M. ii. p. 24. This concludes the
seventh paragraph. The sixth paragraph is not marked in the MS.
* Kurkos (KipKos), ring or hook. The heavens being compared
with a curtain are assumed to have hooks or rings wherewith they
may be fastened ; see Tosaphoth Chagigah, 12a, catchword " From the
end." The'Arukh (ed. Kohut, vii. 215b) quotes our text.
^ Okeanos (ibKtavds). The Church Fathers dwell on the relation
between the Ocean and the world ; thus Chrysostomus, Homilies on
the Epistle to the Romans (xxviii.), quotes Ps. civ. 6 in this connection.
Cf. Augustine, tie Civitate Dei, xii. 12. John of Damascus, On the
Orthodox laith, ii. 9, tells us, " The Ocean flows around the entire
earth like a river." See Test. Levi ii. 7, " And 1 entered from the first
heaven, and I saw there a great sea hanging." Cf. also Jubilees ii. 4.
* i.e. the heavens.
* The eighth paragraph ends here.
" Or, basket. The MS. uses the word denda (tent), which occurs
again, injra, p. 323; this points to Spain as the home of the scribe
who wrote our MS. On the " tent " see T.J. Berakhoth, 2c, d, and
Baraitha d. Shemucl, i. The word which is translated by " tub "
occurs only in our MS.
■> The MS. adds : " like a tent."
* The ist ed. reads " upwards " ; in this paragraph there are several
variants in the MSS. and the printed text'-.
PREMUNDANE CREAtlON 17
and all creatures dwell beneath them as in a tent, as it is
said, " And he spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in "
(Isa. xl. 22).i
Four quarters ^ have been created in the world ; the
quarter facing the east, that facing the south, that facing
the west and that facing the north. From the quarter
facing the east the light goeth forth to the world.^ From
the quarter facing south the dews of blessing and the rains
of blessing * go forth to the world. ^ From the quarter
facing west^ where are the treasuries' of snow and the
treasuries of hail, and thence come forth into the world
cold and heat and rains. From the quarter facing north
darkness goeth forth into the world. The quarter facing
north He created, but He did not complete it, for He said,
Anyone who says : I am a God, let him come and complete
this quarter which I have left (incomplete) and all will
know that he is a God.^
There (in the north) is the abode of the destroying
spirits, earthquakes, winds, demons, lightnings and thunders ;
thence evil issues forth into the world, as it is said, " Out of
the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants
of the earth" (Jer. i. 14).^ Some say by ten Sayings was
^ This verse is also applied by Basil, op. cit. i. 8, in his account of
the form of the heavens.
^ nn (as in Ezek. xlii. 16-20) = direction or quarter of the
world ; wind would not be appropriate here. Gaster, Jerahmeel i. 7,
renders the word " wind " and also " corner." On the four quarters
see Ethiopic Enoch Ixxvii. i, Num. Rab. ii. 10, and Pesikta Rabbathi,
§ xlvi. p. iS8a.
3 See T.B. Baba Bathra, 25a, b.
* See Ezek. xxxiv. 26.
* The rains which are not a blessing come from the north ; see infra,
note g.
* Eth. Enoch Ixxvii. 2 : " And the west quarter is named the
diminished, because there all the luminaries of the heaven wane and go
down." In Num. Rab., loc. cit., the reading is slightly different: " In
the west are the treasuries of snow, and the treasuries of hail, cold, and
heat go forth to the world . . . from the north cometh forth darkness
to the world."
'See T.B. Chagigah, 12b, and cf. Eth. Enoch xh. 3 £f. The con-
ception rests on Job xxxviii. 22. All the powers of nature were sup-
posed to dwell in their respective chambers or to be stored up in
treasuries.
* This seems to point to polemics. Probably the Gnostic doctrine of
the Demiurge is attacked here. For other polemics in our book, see
infra, pp. 79, 851., and 252. See also Ascension of Isaiah iv. 6.
* In the MS. the tenth paragraph ends here. Cf. Jubilees ii. 2.
Origen, de Principiis, ii. viii. 3, quotes Jer. i. 14, and identifies the
18 RABBI ELIEZER
the world created ^ || and in three (Divine attributes) are
these (ten Sayings) comprised,- as it is said, " The Lord
by wisdom founded the earth ; by understanding he
established the heavens, by his knowledge the depths were
broken up " (Prov. iii. 19, 20). By these three (attributes)
was the Tabernacle made, as it is said, " And I have filled
him with the spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding,
and with knowledge " (Ex. xxxi. 3). Likewise with these
three (attributes) was the Temple made, as it is said, " He 3
was the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali,
and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass ; and
he was filled with wisdom and understanding and know-
ledge " (1 Kings vii. 14). By these three attributes it Avill
be rebuilt in the future, as it is said, " Through wisdom
is an house * builded ; and by understanding it is established ;
and by knowledge arc the chambers filled " (Prov. xxiv. 3, 4).
With these three attributes will the Holy One, blessed
be He, give three good gifts to Israel in the future, as it is
"north" with "the cold north wind," which is the "Devil." For
Rabbinic references to the winds see T.B. Baba Bathra, loc. cit. ; and
cf. Num. Rab., loc. cit., as a parallel to our text. Jerahmeel MS. omits
th': rest of this chapter.
1 Our text reappears in the Zohar, Lev. iia. See Pirke Aboth v.
I , and Taylor's note, p. 78 of his 2nd edition. Cf . T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah,
32a, where the first verse of Genesis is reckoned as one of the ten sayings
owing to verse 6 ot Ps. xxxiii. The Venice edition adds the follow-
ing, namely: (i) " And God said, Let there be light " (Gen. i. 3). (2)
" .\nd God said, Let there be a firmament " {ibid. 6). (3) " And God
said, Let the waters be gathered together " {ibid. 9). (4) " And God
said. Let the earth put forth grass " {ibid. 11). (5) " And God said,
Let there be luminaries " {ibid. 14). (6) " And God said, Let the
waters bring forth abundantly" {ibid. 20). (7) " And God said. Let
the earth bring forth " {ibid. 24). (8) " And God said, Let us make
man" {ibid. 2b). (9) "And God said. Behold. I have given you"
{ibid. 29). (10) " And God ^ said. It is not good that the man should
be alone " {ibid. ii. 18).
- Perhaps the translation should be : By three (Divine attributes)
were (the works of creation) completed. The Venice edition adds :
" And they arc. Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge " On these
three attributes see T.B. Berakhoth. 55a, and Midrash Shocher Tob,
Ps. 1. I, and Buber's note (4), where the sources are given. This
Midrash' may help us to understand our te.xt : " With three names
did the Holy One, blessed be He, create His world, corre-
sponding to the three good attributes through which the world was
crceLtcd .'
=* Hiram, the builder of Solomon's Temple.
* The House is a common designation of the Temple, see Jastrow,
Targum Dictionary, p. i6Sa.
1 The Hebrew text in Genesis reads. " Lord God."
PREMUNDANE CREATION 19
said, " For the Lord will give ^ wisdom, out of his mouth
Cometh knowledge and understanding " {ibid. ii. 6).^ It
is not said, " The Lord has given wisdom." These three
attributes will be given ^ to King Messiah, as it is said,
" And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit
of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord "
(Isa. xi. 2).^
* The next sentence should precede the rest of the quotation if we
follow the order of the words in the MS. It is omitted in the printed
editions.
- See Jalkut, Prov. § 935, where attention is drawn to the verb
" will give " in the imperfect tense indicating the future. This point
is lost sight of in the R.V. ; see also Ex. Rab. xli. 3, and cf. T.B. Bcrak-
hoth, 5a.
^ The 1st ed. adds "in double measure"; this has been adopted
by later editions.
* This famous passage from Isaiah is quoted by Justin Martyr in his
Dialogue with Trypho, Ixxxvii., as referring to the Messiah.
CHAPTER IV
THE CREATION OX THE SECOND DAY [i.K. i.]
On the second day ^ the Holy One, blessed be He, created
the firmament,- the angels,'' fire for flesh and blood, ^ and the
fire of Gehinnom.' Were not heaven and earth created on
the first day, as it is said, '' In the beginning God created ^
the heaven and the earth " (Gen. i. 1) ? Which firmament
1 See Jalkut, Gen. § 5, and Jalkut, Ezek. j 33S.
- According to Jubilees ii. 4, the firmament only was created on
the second day : see Slav. Enoch xx\-i.-xxvii.
' In Gen. Rab. i. 3 and iii. o. the question is 'iiscussed as to which
day of the week of creation were the angels called into being. Accord-
ing to R. Jochanan it was the second day, as in our text, whereas
according to R. Chanina it was the fifth day. Theodor (ik Ice.) gives
the various parallel sources in notes 7 and 8. See also Pal. Targum
on Gen. i. 26, where the creation of the angels is also assigned to the
second day, as in Slavonic Enoch xxix. i fit. In Jubilees ii. 2 thi^
event is said to have been on the first day ; see Charles' note 2 on
pp. 12 f. Chir book opposes this \-iew. The Church Fathers sometimes
held this view ; see Epiphanins, adv. Hsr. Lxv. 4. The Rabbis were
fully aware of the teaching that God was assisted at the creation
by angels or the Messiah, and in order to oppose such doctrine the
creation of the angels was fixed on the second or fifth day ; cf. Ex.
Rab. XV. 22.
• See T.B. Pesachim, 54a, and Gen. Rab. xi. 2 for the \-iew that
this fire wais created at the termination of the first Sabbath. As
the angels are often of fire (cf. Rev. xiv. iS), both angels and fire
are held by our author to have been created on the second dav.
This view is held in spite of the statement that light was created on
the first day.
• The fire of Gehenna is mentioned in the New Testament ; see Matt,
v. 22, and c:. Rev. xx. 10. See also Eth. Enoch xc. 24 and 26, the Apoca-
Ixrpse of Baruch lix. 10, 11, and the ApocaI\'p>se of Peter for an account
of Gehenna. The 21st book of Augustine's de Civitate Dei is devoted
to this theme. The Rabbis came to the conclusion that the fire of
Gehenna must have been created on the second day, because the
Scripture does not say with reference to this day " and it was good,"
which, however, does occur in the story of the other five days of
creation; see T.B. Pesachim, 54a, Ex. Rab. xv. 22, and Jalkut,
Gen. § 15.
• The MS. omits the rest of the verse ; it is given in the ist ed. and
subsequent editions.
CREATION OX THE SECOND DAY 21
was created on the second day ? Rabbi Eliezer said : It
was the firmament which is above the heads of the four
Chajjoth (li\-ing creatures)/ (as it is said-), "And over the
head of the Chajjoth there was the likeness of a firma-
ment, like the colour of the terrible crystal " ^ (Ezek. i. 22).
What is the meaning of (the expression), " like the colour
of the terrible crystal " ? It means like precious stones and
pearls ; it illuminates all the heavens like a lamp which is
illuminating - the whole house and like the sun which is
shining ^\-ith maximum intensity at noonday, as it is said,
" The light dwelleth with him '' (Dan. ii. 22) ; ^ and like this
in the future wUl the righteous shed light. '^ as it is said,
" And they that be -wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament "' {ibid. xii. 3)." Were it not for that firmament
the world would be engulfed by the waters above it and
below it;* but (the firmament) divides the waters (above)
from the waters (below), as it is said, " And God said, Let
there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, (and let
it divide the waters from the waters) " ^ (Gen. i. 6), it
illuminates ^° between the waters above and the waters
below.^^
(As for) the angels created on the second ^- day,
when they are sent (as messengers) by His word they
are changed into winds, and when they minister before
Him they are changed into fire, as it is said. '' "\Mio
1 On the Chajjoth. see T.B. Chagigah, 13a, and Hastings' Dictionary
of the Bvle, iii. 128 i. The Chajjoth are to be identified vrith the
" creature " of Rev. iv. 7. Do the^- correspond with the angels of the
presence of Jubilees ii. 2 ? The firmament imphes the division between
the upper and lower waters; see ilidrash Konen (JelUnek, B.H.M.
ii- p- 25).
- " As it is said " occurs in the printed texts.
3 Or " ice."
* This is also the reading in B.M. ]\IS. See also Jalkut to Ezek.
loc. cit.. and cf. Erh.. Enoch xiv. 9 fit.
* The second paragraph in MS. begins here.
* Cf. Matt. xiii. 43. Eth. Enoch xxxix. 7 i., and Ascension of Isaiah
viii. 22.
' This section is quoted by Tosaphoth, T.B. Baba Bathra, 8b,
catchword. " Umazdike."
* Perhaps the translation should be : " bj' the waters, for above it
are waters and beneath it axe waters." This is practically the text
in the printed editions. See Pal. Targum. G.n. i. 6.
* This part of the verse in brackets is wanting in the MS.
1" The 1st ed. reads: " it divides."
^^ The second paragraph ends here.
»2 B.M. MS. reads: " first day."
22 RABBI ELIEZER
maketh his angels winds ; his ministers a flaming fire "
(Ps. civ. 4).i
Four " classes of ministering angels minister and utter
praise ^ before the Holy One, blessed be He : the first camp
(led by) Michael ^ on His right, the second camp (led by)
Gabriel ^ on His left, the third camp || (led by) Uriel ^ before
Him, and the fourth camp (led by) Raphael ^ behind Him ;
and the Shekhinah of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the
centre. He ^ is sitting on a throne high and exalted.^ His
throne is high and suspended above in the air. The ap-
pearance of His Glory is like the colour of amber.^*^ And
the adornment of a crown is on His head, and the Ineffable
Name ^^ is upon His forehead.^- One half (of His glory) is fire
the other half is hail,^^^ at His right hand is life and at His
' This verse is quoted by many of the Church Fathers in order
to describe the nature of the angels ; see John of Damascus, op. cit. ii. 3.
The MS. quotes only the first half of the verse. The entire verse is
given by the first editions. The third paragraph ends here.
* The New Testament refers to the four living creatures before
God's throne ; see Rev. iv. 5. The whole of this chapter is a parallel
to our text.
^ The prmled texts omit " minister and."
* The Midrash here has given rise to a passage in the Hebrew
prayer-book; see Singer, p. 297. See also Num. Rab. ii. 10, Midrash
Konen, p. 27. and Pesikta Rabbathi, § xlvi. p. iS^;a. On Michael see
the valuable monograph by Leuken, and J.E. viii. 535 ff. As parallels
to our text see Targum to Job xxv. 2, and Eth. Enoch xl. 9 and
Ixxi. 8f. , which mentions the four archangels in the following order:
Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Phanuel; in this Book of Enoch (ix. i)
the angel Uriel appears to be the same as Phanuel. In the NT. we
find Michael and Gabriel mentioned. The B.M. MS. reads here Gabriel
in place of Michael, and Michael instead of Gabriel.
* See J.E. V. 540 f. s ggg y £ ^ii. 383.
' See/.E. X. 3i7f. » i.e. God.
» This sentence is omitted by the B.M. MS. The words are found
in the Sabbath Morning Liturgy, Singer, p. 126, last two lines. See
Eth. Enoch xiv. 18.
10 The B.M. MS. adds : " One-half thereof is fire and the other half is
hail." In our MS. the fourth paragraph ends here. The ist ed.,
followed by subsequent editions, adds : " As it is said : ' And I saw
as the colour of amber ' " (Ezek. i. 27).
" The 1st ed. reads : " A crown is set on His head, and the diadem
of the Ineffable Name is upon His forehead." On the Shem Hamme-
phorash or "Ineffable Name" see G. Klein, Der cilteste Christliche
Kiitechismus, pp. 44 ft., and supra, p. 10, note 2.
'* This passage is the source for the words: " Upon His forehead is
impressed the glory of His holy name " in the Hymn of Glory; see
Singer, p. 79. The Venice edition adds : " and His eyes run to arid
fro throughout the whole earth."
'3 Fire and hail represent the two divine attributes of justice and
love ; see Zohar, Gen. i86a, and cf. Eth. Enoch xiv. 20. The B.M. MS.
omits these words in this context.
CREATION ON THE SECOND DAY 23
left is death. He has a sceptre of fire in His hand and a
vein is spread before Him, and His eyes run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, ^ and the seven angels, ^ which
were created first,* minister before Him within the veil,
and this (veil) is called Pargod.^ His footstool is like fire
and hail.*' Fire is flashing continually around His throne,'
righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His
throne.^ And the likeness of His throne is like a sapphire
throne with four legs,^ and the four holy Chajjoth are
fixed to each leg, each one ^° has four faces and each one
' See Coptic Apocrypha, p. 90, and Eth. Enoch xiv. 21.
^ Cf. 2 Chron. xvi. g.
* The seven angels or archangels are referred to in the Book of
Enoch (Eth.), ch. xx. ; see Charles' notes, in loc, for further references.
* The printed texts read : " Since the beginning." Does our book
here agree with Jubilees ii. 2 ?
6 lu-is (llapayavdos) ; see T.B. Berakhoth, i8b, and T.B. Chagigah,
15a, the veil which separates the Shekhinah from the angels ; see Rashi
on T.B. Jebamoth, 63b, catchword, '•^ii (body). The B.M. MS. reads
here : " The seven angels which were created at the beginning, minis-
ter before the veil which is spread before Him." See Coptic Apoc,
p. 254, Eth. Enoch xc. 21 ; Rev. iv. 5 ; and T.B. Baba Mezia, 59a.
* The Footstool of God represents Divine Justice and Love, which
in their turn are symbolised by fire and hail; cf. Lam. ii. i, " He did
not remember his footstool in the day of his anger." The ist ed. of
our text reads: "His footstool is fire and hail flashing around His
throne." See Slav. Enoch xxxvii. i.
' See Ps. xcvii. 3. Origen, contra Celsum, iv. 13, discusses the fiery
nature of God.
« The Venice and Sabbioneta editions insert the following : " and
the seven clouds of glory ^ surround it. And the whirling Ophan ^ and
the Cherub and the Chajjah (living creature) are uttering praise before
Him."»
9 Cf. T.B. Chagigah, 13a.
1" See Ezek. x. 14. On the Cherubim see Maimonides, Guide, iii. i flf.
and cf. ibid. ch. xlv., and Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, i. 377 ff.,
where the N.T. and Patristic references are given. Speaking generally,
the Patristic literature has much more to say concerning angels, good
and bad, than Rabbinic literature. This can be easily seen by compar-
ing the references in Eisenmenger's Entdecktes Judentum or in Weber's
Jiidische Theologie on the one hand and the index to Thalhofer's
Bibliothek der Kirchenvdter, i. pp. 226-229, on the other. The state-
1 On the seven clouds of glory, see Mekhilta, 24b, based on Ps. cv.
39, and cf. J.E. iv. 123. The number 7 is in harmony with the notion
of 7 heavens, 7 rivers around the Holy Land, the 7 planets (T.B. Baba
Bathra, 74b), 7 portals to Gehenna, the 7 archangels, etc. ; and cf. infra,
p. 140. Eth. Enoch Ixxvii. 4-8 .speaks of 7 mountains, 7 rivers, and
7 islands. See also Ps. xcvii. 2.
2 Ophan (or wheel) occurs in Ezek. x. 13; this is identified by
P.R.E. with the Galgal ('?3'?J) or whirling wheel.
3 See Ezek. i. 24 and iii. 12 f. with Targum, The B.M. MS. adds
tiere: " They are the Cherubim/'
24
RABBI ELIEZER
has four wings, as it is said, " And every one had four
faces and four wings" (Ezck. i. 6), and these (Chajjoth) are
the Cherubim.
When 1 He || speaks towards the west He speaks between
the two Cherubim with the face of the ox, when He speaks
towards the north He speaks between the two Cherubim
with the face of an eagle.
Over against them - are the Ophanim (Wheels) and the
Whirling Wheels of the Chariot,^ and when He looketh
ment on the subject in Hastings' Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels,
i. 57, " The Jews believed all that the N.T. says of angels, but
they also believed much more, " needs revision. The Church is more
concerned with angels in its liturgy and ritual than the Synagogue.
^ The first editions add the following : " when He speaks towards
the east He speaks between the two Cherubim with the face of a
man, and when He speaks towards the south He speaks between
the two Cherubim with the face of a lion. " See Ezek. i. lo. The
scheme indicated seems to be as follows : —
NORTH.
Man.
Ox.
Lion.
Eagle. I £<ig'
■le.
Lion.
WEST.
Ox.
Ox.
Mati.
Man.
EAST.
Eagle.
Lion. I Lion.
Eagle.
Man.
Ox
SOUTH.
* The Cherubim.
^ The Merkabah (n3::io) or Chariot is described in Ezek. i. and x.
See T.B. Chagigah, 14b, Maimonides, Guide, iii. 1-7, and cf. Ecclus. xlix.
8, and ] .E. viii. 498 If . The mystery of the Chariot is also referred to
by Eth. Enoch xiv. iS. and Origen, contra Celsum, vi. r8. Sec also
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, i. 377 f. and v. 644. The Venice
edition adds: "When He sits He is upon the throne high and
exalted."
CREATION ON THE SECOND DAY 25
upon the earth His chariots are upon the Ophanim, and
owing to the noise caused by the whirhng wheels of the
Chariot — hghtnings and thunder go forth into the world.^
When He dwells - in heaven He rideth upon a swift cloud. ^
When He hastens He flies upon the wings of the wind, as
it is said, " And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly ; yea,
he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind " (Ps. xviii. 10).
The Chajjoth stand next to the throne of His glory and
they do not know the place of His glory.^ The Chajjoth
stand in awe and dread,^ in fear and trembling, and from
the perspiration of their faces a river of fire arises and goes
forth '^ before Him, as it is said, " A fiery stream issued and
came forth from before him . . ." (Dan. vii. 10). And
the wings of Gallizur "^ the angel, who stands next to the
Chajjoth, (are spread forth) so that the fire which consumes
the fire of the angels should not burn (them). Two Seraphim
stand, one on His right and one on His left, each one has
six wings, ^ with twain they cover their face ^ so as not to
behold the presence of the Shekhinah, with twain they
cover their feet so that they should not be seen before the
presence of the Shekhinah, || so that the standing of the foot
of the calf ^^ might be forgotten. With twain do they fly,
1 See Ps. Ixxvii. i8.
2 This is omitted in the Cambridge Genizah and in the first editions.
^ The Venice edition adds : " as it is said, ' And he rode upon a cherub,
and did fly ' " (Ps. xviii. lo). A more appropriate quotation would be :
" Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud " (Isa. xix. i).
* This is wanting inthe Oxford MS. (d. 35).
^ A parallel text with deviations occurs in Singer, pp. 38 and 130.
See also Liturgy, Second Day of New Year, ed. Heidenheim, p. 36a.
* See T.B. Chagigah, 13b; of. Eth. Enoch Ixxi. 6 and xiv. 18 f.:
" And I looked and saw a lofty throne ; its appearance was as crystal,
and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of
cherubim. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming
fire, so that I could not look thereon." The N.T. speaks of the
heavenly throne; see Rev. i. 4, iii. 21, iv. 2 ; cf. Gen. Rab. Ixxviii. i.
^ The whole of this sentence is missing in the printed texts. Gallizur,
as the name of an angel, occurs in Pesikta Rabbathi, § xx. p. 97b ;
Jerahmeel, Iii. 8 ; and Liturgy, Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly, ed.
Heid' nhcim, p. 20b.
^ The B.M. MS. adds here : " as it is said, ' Above him stood the
Seraphim ; each one had six wings ' " (Isa. vi. 2).
8 Our text agrees with the B.M. MS., and this reading has been
preserved in Jalkut on Isaiah, § 404 ; see also Lev. Rab. xxvii. 3, and
Tanchuma, Emor, § viii. The ist and 2nd eds. read : " With twain does
each one cover his face."
1" The foot of the Cherub was like that of the calf (see Ezek. i. 7) ; this
might recall the sin of the Golden Calf. See T.B. Chagigah, loc. cif.
26 RABBI ELIEZER
praising and reverencing, and they sanctify.^ One answers
and another calls,'- one calls and another answers, and they
say, " Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts ; the whole
earth is full of his glory " (Isa. vi. 3).^
The Chajjoth stand at the side of the throne of His glory
and they do not know the place of His glory ; ' they respond
and say in every place where His glory '' is, " Blessed be
the glory of the Lord from his place " (Ezek. iii. 12). Israel,^
a nation unique on the carth,^ declares daily " the unity of
His great Name, saying, " Hear, O Israel : the Lord is our
God, the Lord is one " (Deut. vi. 4). He answers His people
Israel and says to them, I am the Lord your God who has
delivered ^ you from every trouble.^"
1 These words are similar to the first words of the Kedushah (Sancti-
fication) ; see Singer, p. i6o, and cf . Ps. Ixxxix. 7. The Sephardic Liturgy
is somewhat different, its phraseology for this part of the Prayer Book
being probably based on Isa. xxix. 23. For the Kedushah see Ezek.
xxxvi. 23 ; Isa. vi. 3 ; Ex. Rab. xv. 6 and Lev. Rab. ii. 8. The Venice
edition adds: " His Great Name." The B.M. MS. reads here: "And
they stand near the throne of His glory and do not know the place of
His glory, as it is said, 'Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place '
(Ezek. iii. 12), and the Chajjoth stand in awe and dread," etc., as
above.
2 See Jalkut on Isaiah, loc. cit., andT.B. Chullin, 91b, for the angelic
sanctification. ' The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads : " One calls and they
all reply and say."
3 This is the end of the 7th section in the MS. On the theme see
Slav. Enoch xxi. i.
* The reading seems to be corrupt, and should run : " The Chajjoth
respond and say," etc. The first part of the sentence has already
been given at the beginning of the preceding paragraph.
* On the" Glory " see Abelson, The Immanence of God in Rabbinic
Literature, p. 380 ff. The Place of God's glory is identified by P.R.E.
with the Shekhinah ; see infra, p. 225, not^' 9, and ci. Eth. Enoch xxxix.
12-1^.
« The 9th section in the MS. begins here.
'These words occur in the 'Amidah for Sabbath afternoon; see
Singer, p. 175.
* The Oxford MS. (d. 35) adds: " continually every day twice."
» The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads : " who redeems."
i» The many parallels in our text lo Eth. Enoch xiv. Q-22, and Slav.
Enoch xxi. i and xxii. 1-3 are noteworthy, and point to the influence
which the prscudepigraphic books b.ave had upon our author. The
latter part of this chapter is of importance in connection with the
liturgy of the Synagogue. We note how the threefold responses of
the kedushali are set forth here as the responses of (i) the angels,
(2) Israel, and (3) God; compare Singer, pp. 160 f. The writer of the
MS. did not end the chapter here, but continued with the next chapter.
A later scribe has added in the margin, " Chapter V.," thus agreeing with
other MSS. and the printed editions. Our cliapur should be compared
with the Mcrkabah Midrashim in the first two vohini;s of Wertheimer's
BotU' Midrashofh.
CHAPTER V
THE GATHERING OF THE WATERS [5a. i.J
On the third day ^ all the earth was flat like a plain and
the waters covered the surface of all the earth. When the
word of the Almighty 2 was uttered, " Let the waters be
gathered together " (Gen. i. 9), the mountains and hills arose
from the ends of the earth and they were scattered ^ over
the surface of all the earth, and valleys were formed over the
inner parts of the earth ; and the waters were rolled together
and gathered into the valleys, as it is said, " And the
gathering together of the waters he called seas " {ibid. 10).^
Forthwith the waters became proud ^ and they arose to
cover the earth as at first, when the Holy One, blessed be
He, rebuked them || and subdued them,« and placed them
beneath the soles of His feet,^ and measured them with
1 Of the week of creation. Our Book agrees here with the Book of
Jubilees, which states : " And on the third dav He commanded the
waters to pass from off the face of the whole earth" (ii. 5). Cf.
Ps. civ. 6, according to which the mountains were beneath the water,
the surface of which was like a plain.
2 Jalkut, Gen. § 8, reads : " The Holy One, blessed be He."
3 The gathering of the waters revealed the hills and valleys which
had hitherto been covered by the water.
* In the MS. the tenth paragraph (of the fourth chapter) is marked
here. For a parallel text see Wertheimcr, op. cit., 1. p. 6.
^ The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads : " The waters became insolent and
attempted to ascend to Heaven as at first until He rebuked and sub-
dued them and placed them beneath the soles of His feet, as it is said :
' Who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters' "
(Isa. xhii. 16). The first editions agree with our MS.
« See Ps. civ. 7, Job xxxviii. 8-10, and Prov. viii. 29. Eth.
Enoch offers a parallel: " the sea was created, and as its founda-
tion He set for it the sand against the time of anger, and it dare
not pass beyond it from the creation of the world unto eternity "
(Ixix. 18).
' See Job ix. 8, Ps. Ixxvii. 19, and Shocher Tob, Ps. xciii. 5, where
our text is preserved ; cf. Midrash Konen, p. 25.' The ist ed. {P.R.E.)
reads: "and He subdued them beneath the ends of His feet." The
n
28 RABBI ELIEZER
the hollow of His hand ^ that they should neither decrease
nor increase. He made the sand as the boundary of the
sea, just like a man who makes a fence for his vineyard.
When they rise and sec the sand before them they return
to their former place,- as it is said, " Fear ye not me ?
saith the Lord ^ : will ye not tremble at my presence,
which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea ? "
(Jer. V. 22).
Before the waters were gathered together the depths '
were created. These are the depths wliich arc beneath
the earth ; for the earth is spread ' upon the water like a
ship which floats in the midst of the sea, so likcAvise is the
earth spread out over the water, as it is said, " To him
that spread forth the earth above the waters ..."
(Ps. cxxxvi. 6). He opened an entrance to the Garden of
Eden "^ because thence were planted upon the face of all
Midrash should be compared with Tanchuma. Chukkath, § i, and see
T.B. BabaBathra, 74b. The subject has been discussed by Jampel in
the Mondsschrift, 1912, p. 148.
^ See Isa. xl. 12.
2 See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 10.
' The second half of the verse is not given in the MS., which reads
" etc."
* The Venice edition adds the words " the luminaries " before the
words " the depths." This is clearly a mistake.
* Jalkut Makhiri to Psalms (Ps. cxxxvi. ri) reads: "the earth
floats upon the depths." The text of this section in the Jalkut is
more correct than tlie printed editions of P.R.E.
* This agrees with the Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) i. i. : " And
to the north of the garden there is a .sea of water." See Jalkut Makhiri
{loc. cit.) for a parallel to our text. The Venice edition differs slightly
from the ist ed. and reads: "The entrance to the Garden of Eden
opened therein and He brought forth thence plants upon the face of all
the earth." This 5tli chapter is devoted to the account of the creation
on the third day. Thus far we find the following things enumerated :
(i) the gathering of the waters, (2) the appearance of the mountains
and hills, (3) the transference of the plants and trees from the Garden
of Eden, and we shall have (4) an account of the mists and clouds
which water the face of the earth. The Book of Jubilees seems to
offer a parallel : (i) " And the dry land appeared, and on that day
He created for them (2) all the seas according to their separate gathering-
places, and all the rivers, and the gathering of the waters in the
mountains and on all the earth and all the lakes, (3) and all the dew
of the earth, (4) and the seed which is sown, and all sprouting things,
and fruit-bearing trees, and trees of the wood, and the Garden of Eden
in Eden, and all (plants after their kind). These four great works
God created on the third <lay " (ii. 6, 7). It seems strange that both
books in connection with the third day refer to the Garden of Eden,
especially as our book has already dealt with this as one of the pre-
mundane creations. According to Gen. Rab. xv. 3 the Garden of Eden
was created before the creation of man, who was created on the sixth
THE GATHERING OF THE WATERS 29
the earth all kinds of trees yielding fruit according to their
kind, and all kinds of herbs and grass ^ thereof, and in
them (was seed), as it is said, " Wherein is the seed thereof,
upon the earth " (Gen. i. 11).
He prepared a table for the creatures whilst as yet they
were not created,^ as it is said, " Thou preparest a
table before me" (Ps. xxiii. 5). All the fountains arise
from the depths to give water to all creatures.^ Rabbi
Joshua said : The diameter ^ of the earth is equal to a journey
of sixty years,^ and one of the depths which is near to
Gehinnom bubbles with water and produces water '^ for the
delight of the sons of man.
Rabbi Jehudah !| said : Once every month ducts ' rise
from the depths to irrigate the face of all the earth, as it
is said, " And there went up a mist from the earth and
watered ^ the whole face of the ground " (Gen. ii. 6).'-^ The
clouds cause the seas to hear the sound of their waterspouts,^"
and the seas cause the depths to hear the sound of their
waterspouts, and the deep calls to the deep to bring up
waters to give them to the clouds, as it is said, " Deep
day, whereas Eden was created on the third day. This tradition
is preserved in Slavonic Enoch (A and B) xxx. i and in the Book of
Adam and Eve (cd. Malan), loc. cit.
1 The Venice edition adds: " He planted thereof, and in them was
their s^ed upon the earth."
- The reading in the first editions is: " whilst as yet the world was
not created." This " table " is not one of the premundane creations;
seeT.B. Synhedrin, 38a, based on Prov. ix. 1-3, and cf. Lev. Rab. xi. i.
Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa in the fourth century c.e., has a similar
Midrash in his work de Hominis opificio, 2 ; see also Slav. Enoch (B)
xxx. I.
3 See Ps. civ. 10-13.
* On this theme see T.B. Pesachim, 94a, and Gen. Rab. iv. 5, and see
Theodor's notes on p. 29 of his edition for further parallels.
* Oxford MS. (2835, c. 27) reads "five hundred years"; cf. T.J.
Beraklioth, 2C ; T.B. Chagigah, 12a, and Gen. Rab. vi. 6.
* The ist ed. reads: "and produces delight for the sons of man."
On the subject referred to in the text see T.B. Sabbath, 39a.
' Our text is preserved in Jalkut to Psalms (Ps. xlii. § 744). On
"Silonoth" (ducts) see Jastrow, T.D. 979b. Gaster, Jerahmeel li. 5,
renders here " rivulets ascend from the depths," etc.
* The rest of the verse is not given by the MS., whicii reads
"etc."
^ The LXX renders this verse : " But a fountain ascended out of
the earth " ; see Hellenism and Chvistianity , p. 25 note,
!•* See Jalkut Makhiri, Psalms (Ps. xlii. 16), where our text occurs
with variant readings; thus, instead of " Zinorothiham," which means
" their splashing," or " duct," or " spout," we find " Kinorothiham "
(" their harps ").
30 RABBI ELIEZER
callcth unto deep at the sound of thy waterspouts " (Ps.
xlii. 7).i
The clouds draw water from the depths, as it is said,
" He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends - of
the earth " {ibid, cxxxv. 7), and in every place where the
King commands them,^ there they cause rain (to fall),
and forthwith the earth becomes fruitful and yields produce
like a widow who becomes pregnant through debauchery.''
But when the Holy One, blessed be He, desires to bless the
produce of the earth,^ and to gi\'e provision to the creatures,^
He opens the good treasuries in heaven and sends rain
upon the earth, namely, the fructifying rain,^ and forthwith
the earth becomes fruitful like a bride who conceives from
her first husband and produces offspring of blessing, as it is
said, " The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasury
the heaven " ^ (Deut. xxvni. 12).
' See T.B. Taanith, 25b, for the application of this verse in con-
nectio n with the water ceremonies on the Feast of Tabernacles.
^ Where originally the water was.
^ See Job xxxvii. 11-13. The rain illustrates the working of
Divine Providence ; cf. Jer. xiv. 22.
* This rain would not be the rain of blessing, cf. T.B. Taanith, 6b.
* See Ps. Ixv. 9, 10, and cf. T.B. Taanith, 8b.
* This phrase does not occur in the ist ed. See Ps. cxxxii. 15.
'The rain from heaven is full of vitalizing power; see infra, pp.
63 and 167. The actual expression in our context is " the masculine
waters." Eth. Enoch liv. 8 offers a parallel: "And all the waters
shall be joined with the waters, that which is above the heavens is
the masculine, and the water which is beneath the earth is feminine."
See Charles' interesting note (8) on p. 107 of his edition, where he
quotes T.J. Berakhoth, ix. 2, " the upper water is male and
the lower water is female."
* The verse continues: " To give the rain of thy land in its season
and to bless all the work of thy hand." This is given in the B.M. MS.
The 1st ed. and later editions add : " and it is written, ' ior as a young
man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee ' ' (Isa. Ixii. 3), and
it is written, ' For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven.^
. . . and watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and
giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater ' " (ibid. Iv. 10).
' See T.B. Moed Katan, 2a, where this verse is explained as in our
context. On " rain " see Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, iv. 195 f., and
Krauss, Talmudische Archdologie, ii. 149 f. Interesting references to
rain occur in Eth. Enoch apart from the quotation given in note above,
namely, Ix. 21 If., and in the previous verse " the chambers of the
rain " are mentioned.
^ The latter part of the verse is not given by the printed texts,
which merely add "etc."
CHAPTER VII
THE PLANETS ; THE COURSE OF THE SUN [5b. i.]
On the fourth day He connected together - the two himin-
aries,^ of which one was not greater (in size) than the other.*
They were equal ^ as regards their height,*^ || qualities,' and
illuminating powers,^ as it is said, " And God made the
two great lights" (Gen. i. 16). Rivalry ensued between
them, one said to the other, I am bigger than thou art.
The other rejoined, I am bigger than thou art.
What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do,^ so that
there should be peace between them ? He made the one
larger and the other smaller,^" as it is said, " The greater
light to rule the day,^^ and the lesser light to rule the night
and the stars he also made " (ibid.).^-
1 In our MS. the fifth chapter begins here.
' The B.M. MS. reads here " created." The word in the printed
texts means " associated " or "joined." On the legend see Gen. Rab.
vi. 3 and T.B. ChuUin, 6ob, which is translated in Rabbinic Philosophy
and Ethics, pp. 12 f. ; and see Pal. Targum, Gen. i. 16.
^ The first editions read : " the two great luminaries."
* This legend occurs in Eth. Enoch Ixxii. 37, " but as regards size
they are both equal," and cf. Slavonic Enoch xvi. 7. Our text reads
(if taken quite literally) : " This one was not greater than that one,
and that one was not greater than this one."
* The equality was implied in the words of the Scripture, " the
two great lights." The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads : " but the two of
them were equal as though they were one."
* Above the earth, or firmament. ' e.g. they have the same shape.
* The Pal. Targ. Gen. i. 16 offers a parallel here.
* The B.M. MS. adds : " to restore peace between them. He made the
one smaller because it had slandered its companion." See Gen. Rab. vi. 3.
1° See T.B. Chullin, loc. cif., and cf. 3 Baruch ix. 7. The Midrash
is also preserved in the Machzor Vitry, p. 154, reading of the Sabbath
morning liturgy. Cf. Singer, p. 129. See also B&er's 'Abodaih Israel,
p. 212, note, for the reading in the Tur : "and He diminished (I'lipni)
the figure of the moon."
" The MS. does not give the second half of the verse, it merely reads
" etc."
1- See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 12 f.
31
32
RABBI ELIEZER
All the stars minister^ to the seven planets,- and their
names are : Sun, Venus, Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter,
Mars.^ The mnemonic of their service is KZNSh ChLM,
by night; ChLM KZNSh by day and KLSh ZMChN
for the hours of the night ; ChNKL ShZM for the hours
of the day.^ On the first day Mercury and the Sun,
on the second day Jupiter and the Moon, on the third day
Venus and Mars, on the fourth day Saturn and Mercury,
on the fifth day the Sun and Jupiter, on the sixth day the
Moon and Venus, on the seventh day Mars and Saturn.^
^ The word in the text may mean serve, or minister to the needs
of, or to be in attendance on others, or to be placed over, hence to
influence, or rule.
2 Lit. " Stars of the hours." The ist ed. reads, " the seven stars
and all the hours," but subsequent editions read, " the seven stars of
the hours." The first editions give the names in the following order :
Mercury, the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, and Venus. These
editions continue : " And they minister to the seven days of the
week." The idea implied is that each planet influences the world for
one hour by day and by night. Thus —
At 6 o'clock, Saturday Night (when the first day of the
week begins), Mercury (K) rules, and again at i a.m.^
Satordav, 7 p.m., the Moon (L) rules, and at 2 ,,
8
9
10
II
12
Saturn (Sh)
Jupiter (Z)
Mars(M)
the Sun (Ch)
Venus (N)
Sunday Morning —
• The Sun (Ch) rules at 6 a.m.
•<
v.n
At 6 p.m. Sunday, Jupiter (Z)
,, Monday, Venus (N) ,,
Tuesday, vSaturn (Sh) ,,
Wednesday, the Sun (Ch) ,,
Thursday, the Moon (L) ,,
Friday, Mars (M) ,,
Venus (N) ,, 7 >.
Mercury (K) ,, 8 ,,
Moon (L) ,, 9 ,,
Saturn (Sh) ,, 10 ,,
Jupiter (Z) ,, 11 ,,
Mars (M) „ 12 noon.
rules, and at 6 a.m. Monday, the Moon (L) rules.
,, „ ,, Tuesday, Mars (M)
,, ,, ,, Wednesday, Mercury (K)
Thursday, Jupiter (Z)
Friday, Venus (N)
Saturday, Saturn (Sh)
The Jewish day begins at 6 p.m. {i.e. six hours earlier than the usual
time in vogue in this country). For full explanation see Rashi on
T.B. Berakhoth, 59b, and on T.B. 'Erubin, 56a. The seven planets
are mentioned in the Scpher Jezirah iv. 7 by the same names as in
our text. See also Baraitha d. Shcmucl, ch. iii.
^ The seven planets in the order of the text are represented by the
following letters: Ch (Sun), N (Venus), K (Mercury), L (Moon), Sh
(Saturn), Z (Jupiter), M (Mars). The letters represent the Hebrew
names of the planets.
^ The whole of this sentence is missing in the printed editions.
* The seven planets were believed to move in seven different orbits ;
see Philo, op. cit. 38, i. M. 27, C.VV. i. 112. Origen, contra Celsum, vi. 21,
speaks of " the spheres of the planets." In the next chapter of Origen
we hear of the mysteries of Mithras, and in connection with the rites
of this cult the seven planets are mentioned. The order is as follows:
Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, the Moon, the Sun. This is
exactly the reverse order of iho mm inoiiic in our text for Uic service
of the planets by day. In chapter xxxi. Origen deals with the " ruling
PLANETS; COURSE OF THE SUN 33
All of them minister to the twelve constellations ^ which
correspond to the twelve months. The constellations are :
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio,
Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces.- All the
constellations minister to ^ the days of the sun.'' Now the
days of the solar month are 30 days, 10 hours and a half,^
spirits" accepted by the teaching of the Gnostics; these "ruling
spirits " are the seven planets. The system has fortunately been
preserved in the Pisiis Sophia (ed. Mead), pp. 360 ff. The Church
Father John of Damascus, in his Doctrine of Faith, ii. 7, also men-
tions the seven planets. See also Hippolytus, Philosophumena, iv.
6ff.
1 i.e. the Zodiac. On this subject see John of Damascus, loc. cit.,
and cf. J.E. iv. 244 f. Slavonic Enoch xxx. reads : " The sun that
he should go according to each sign of the Zodiac ; and the course of
the moon through the twelve signs of the Zodiac," and see Eth. Enoch
Ixxiii.-lxxiv.
2 The first editions add : " These {i.e. the constellations) were created
in the work of the Creation to rule the world, and thus are their
ordinances. And these seven servants ^ were created, and He placed
them in the firmament of the heavens." - Our MS. agrees here with the
Oxford MS. (d. 35).
^ Perhaps the word should be rendered "serve" ; see supra, p. 32,
note I. Caster's Jerahmeel iv. 2 has " rules " in reference to the sun,
and " serves " in connection with the other planets.
* Does this mean that the constellations influence the months, there
being twelve constellations corresponding to the twelve months ?
Perhaps the reference is to the fact that the sun is in each constella-
tion for 30 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes {i.e. a solar month). The Oxford
MS. (d. 35) reads, " the days of the solar year." The Venice edition
reads : " the days of the solar month." According to John of
Damascus {loc. cit.)—
The sun
enters Aries on March 21st.
9i
Taurus ,, April 23 rd.
J»
Gemini ,, May 24th.
l>
Cancer „ June 24th.
91
Leo ,, July 25th.
Jt
Virgo ,, August 25th.
9>
Libra ,, September 25th.
it
Scorpio ,, October 25th.
tf
Sagittarius ,, November 25th.
n
Capricornus , , December 25th.
>9
Aquarius ,, January 25th.
Pisces „ February 24th.
The ist ed. adds " Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Saturn. Sun,
Moon, Saturn, and Mercury minister to each constellation 30 (days)
4 hours like an attendant, and just as the Sun and Moon and Mercury
enter simultaneously." The text is evidently corrupt.
^ The ist ed. adds here : " and during the days of the lunar month
two constellations serve for four days and eight hours." The meaning
is not evident. 4 days, 8 hours x 7=30 days, 8 hours.
1 i.e. the plan:ts.
2 Each one in its own orbit.
34 RABBI ELIEZER
and each constellation ministers to the || days of the solar
month for two days and a half, so that two constellations
(minister for) five days.^ The chief - which begins at the
beginning of the solar month is the same chief which com-
pletes ^ at the end of the solar month ; the one which opens
is the one which closes.''
The great cycle of the sun is 28 years,^ and therein are
seven small cycles each of four years. ^ The number of
days of the solar year ' is 365 and a quarter of a day. The
seasons® of the solar year are four, each season (consisting
of) 91 days 7| hours. The beginnings of the cycles of the
seasons are the 4th, 2nd, 7th, 5th, 3rd, 1st, and 6th (days).^
Between each cycle there are 5 days and 6 (hours). ^°
1 The sense to be conveyed seems to be that in a solar month every
2j days is under the influence of a constellation, the last loi hours
being reckoned as part of the service of the constellation which is next
in order to that constellation which was placed over the last 2.1 days
of the month. We shall see that each constellation is served by the
Moon for 2.V days, or, as John of Damascus says [loc. cit.), " The Moon
passes through the twelve constellations in each month."
* i.e. the constellation.
^ This would then mean that the next constellation begins its influ-
ence at the beginning of the next solar month.
* It seems that the last loi hours of the solar month are under the in-
fluence of the constellation which ruled at the beginning of that month.
» See T.B. Berakhoth, loc. cit. ; T.B. Sabbath, 129b, with Rashi.
' The order of the planets which bepin the .seven small cycles
respectively is Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and
the Moon, a cycle of four years being supposed to elapse between the
beginning of the rule of each of these plancls.
' 1st ed. reads " solar years," the later texts read " the sun."
* Tekuphah ; see Jewish Calendar, 1915-16, edited by the present
writer, pp. 31, 35, etc., for the Tekuphah. The word means " turn," or
" cycle " ; cf. Ex. xxxiv. 22 and Ps. xix. 6. It means in our book season,
or (i) vernal equinox, or (2) the summer solstice, or (3) the autumnal
equinox, or (4) the winter solstice. See Rashi on T.B. Berakhoth, loc.
cit. where we learn that the first Tekuphah of Nisan at the Creation was
on the fourth day (Wednesday). Can Jubilees i. 14 and ii. 9 refer
to Tekuphah ? See Pal. Targ. Gen. i. 14, which reads : " And God
said : Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to distinguish
between the day and the night ; and let them be for signs and seasons
for festivals and for the numbering by them of the calculation of the days
and for the sanctification by them of new moons and new years, (for)
intercalations of months and intercalations of years and Tekuphoth
of the Sun and the Molad of the Moon and cycles." Etheridge's version
{The Targums, i. p. 159) is inaccurate.
* The seven days respectively of the seven small cycles. The
Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads : " The Tekuphoth are at the beginning of the
night of the fourth day, the beginning of the night of the second day "
. . . concluding with " the beginning of the night of the sixth day."
"> Is the text faulty here ? The interval of five days is apparent from
the preceding sentence in the text.
PLANETS; COURSE OF THE SUN 35
The Tekuphoth {i.e. seasons) of the small cycle are four
in each year, some of them (last) 91 days 7^ hours and some
last 92 days.^ The first year of the cycle (of four years)
has its Tekuphah in Nisan at 6 p.m. ; in the second year
at 12 p.m. ; in the third year at 6 a.m. ; in the fourth year
at 12 a.m. 2
The four beginnings of the Tekuphah of the four months
of Nisan ^ commence at the beginning of the night/ at
midnight, at the beginning of the day,^ and at noon (re-
spectively). The rest of the other (days of the) || Tekuphoth
are as follows : ZCh ; GYCh ; VACh ; TDCh.«
The first Tekuphah of Nisan ' took place at the beginning
' This means that the year equals 4 xgi days, 7I hours =365^ days.
The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads : " Some of them (last) 91 days and some
of them 92 days." This reading seems preferable to our text and seems
to point to 366 days in the year, i.e. two seasons of 91 days each and
two of 92 days each. Luria rejects the reading, " Some of them (last)
92 days."
2 Luria's reading in the latter part of Note 22, in loc, has been
adopted, as the MS. text seems to be unintelligible. The MS. reads : The
first year of the cycle is A-G (ist and 3rd letters of the Hebrew alpha-
bet) ; the second year is B-B (2nd letter of Hebrew alphabet) ; the
third year is GAD (3rd, ist, and 4th letters) ; the fourth year is DD.
The reading adopted for the translation gives the following abbrevia-
tions : A-A, B-V, G-A, D-V, where the first letters of each set
refer to the ist, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years (of the small cycle) re-
spectively ; the 2nd letters indicate the hours when the Tekuphoth
of Nisan in the four years begin, namely : 6 p.m. (A), 12 p.m. (V),
6 a.m. (A), and 12 a.m. (V).
3 In each cycle of four years.
* The Jewish day consists of night, lasting 12 hours, which
begins at 6 p.m., and day, lasting 12 hours and commencing at
6 a.m.
^ i.e. 6 a.m.
• ZCh = 7th and 8th letters of Hebrew alphabet.
GYCh=3rd, loth, and 8th letters of Hebrew alphabet.
VACh=6th, ist, and 8th letters of Hebrew alphabet.
TDCh=9th, 4th, and 8th letters of Hebrew alphabet.
Ch (8th letter) is an abbreviation for the word ('sn) meaning " half."
The abbreviations mean : —
When the Tekuphah of Nisan is the ist hour (A) of the night,
i.e. at 6 p.m., the Tekuphah of Tammuz is 7^ hours (^Ch) later, i.e.
1.30 a.m. The Tekuphah of Tishri is at 3 hours of the day (G), i.e.
g a.m., and the Tekuphah of Tebeth is io| hours of the day (YCh), i.e.
4.30 p.m. Again, when the Tekuphah of Nisan is the 6th hour, i.e. mid-
night (V), the Tekuphah of Tammuz is i^ hour of the day (ACh), i.e. 7.30
a.m., and the Tekuphah of Tishri is 9 hours of the day (T), i.e. 3 p.m.,
and the Tekuphah of Tebeth is 4^ hours of the following night (DCh),
i.e. at 10.30 p.m.i
' At the era of the Creation.
1 See T.B. 'Erubin, loc. cit.
36 RABBI ELTEZER
(of the hours) of Saturn.' The Tekuphah of Tammu?: (took
place) at the middle (of the hours) of Saturn.- The Tekuphah
of Tishri (occurred) at the beginning of the hours of Jupiter.^
The Tekuphah of Tebcth (took place) at the middle (of the
hours) of Jupiter. ' And thus with all the other Tekuphoth,
which occur at the beginning of the hours or at the middle
of the hours.''
The first cycle ^ took place at the beginning of the hour
of Saturn, (and the names of the Planets of the hours are)
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the
Moon. The second cycle occurred in the hour (of the Planet)
which is in front of it,' (i.e.) at the beginning of the hour
of Jupiter. The third cycle occurred at the beginning of
the hour of Mars. The fourth cycle entered at the
beginning of the hour of the Sun. The fifth cycle entered
at the beginning of the hour of Venus. The sixth cycle
entered at the beginning of the hour of Mercury. The
seventh cycle entered at the beginning (of the hour) of the
Moon. (At) the end of seven hours,^ at the end of seven cycles,
* Saturn is the planet for the eve of the fourth day at 6 o'clock p.m.
on Tuesday. See supra, p- 3-, note 2.
* yi hours later is still the hour of Saturn ; this would be at 1.30 a.m.
Wednesday.
^ jh hours later is the hour of Jupiter at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
* 7I hours later is still in Jupiter at 4.30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
' This refers to the service of the planets over the hours, as can
be seen from the notes above; the two Tekuphoth are either at the
beginning or at the middle of the hours.
* Of the seven Tekuphoth cycles referred to above, the first begins
on the fourth day, i.e. Wednesday (which commences on Tuesday at
6 p.m., which is the hour of Saturn).
' In reference to the position of its orbit around the earth as centre.
In this connection the position of the planets is as follows : nearest
to the earth we have the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn.
* It has been suggested by R. Elijah of Vilna that this reference
to the seven hours should be omitted. Perhaps the readirr^ should
be "At the end of the seven planets of the hours," i.e. tlie cvcle re-
commences with Saturn. The Tekuphoth of Nisan are as follows : —
1234 years.
1. Wednesday 6.0 p.m.
Thursday 12.0 p.m.
Friday 6.0 a.m.
Saturday 12.0 a.m.
5678 years.
2. Monday 6.0 p.m.
Tuesday 12.0 p.m.
Wednesday 6.0 a.m.
Thursday 12.0 a.m.
PLANETS ; COURSE OF THE SUN 37
at the end of 35 days ^ of the great cycle of 28 years, the
Tekuphah cycle returns (i.e. begins again) at the beginning
of the fourth day ^ in the hour of Saturn in the hour when
it was created.
In 366 (degrees) ^ the sun rises and declines, it rises
183 (degrees) || in the east, and it declines 183 (degrees) in
the west corresponding to the 365 ^ days of the solar year.
(The sun) goes forth through 366 ^ apertures and enters by
The third cycle falls on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday
at 6 and 12 p.m. and 6 and 12 a.m. respectively in the gth, loth, nth,
and r2th years respectively.
The fourth cycle falls on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
at 6 and 12 p.m. and 6 and 12 a.m. respectively in the 13th, 14th,
15th, and 1 6th years respectively.
The fifth cycle falls on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
at 6 and 12 p.m. and 6 and 12 a.m. respectively in the 17th, i8th, 19th,
and 20th years respectively.
The sixth cycle falls on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
at 6 and 12 p.m. and 6 and 12 a.m. respectively in the 21st, 22nd,
23rd, and 24th years respectively.
The seventh cycle falls on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
at 6 and 12 p.m. and 6 and 12 a.m. respectively in the 25th, 26th, 27th,
and 28th years respectively.
It must be borne in mind that the first two Tekuphoth of every
cycle are p.m., and therefore the actual English day in these cases is
nominally one daj' earlier than the Je\vish day.
1 This is also the reading of the ist ed. Later editions are faulty, and
read " 65 daj-s." The number 35 is due to 7 X5 days, the latter being
the interval between each small cycle of four years, during which
there are 16 Tekuphoth, and each Tekuphah is 7^ hours' interval later
than its predecessor. 7=the number of cycles.
^ Tuesday evening at six o'clock, when the fourth day (Wednesday)
of the Hebrew week begins.
* " Degrees " according to the reading in the first two editions. The
1st ed. reads " 365 degrees."
* In the MS. a later writer has written " 6 " above the " 5." The
first editions read, " according to the days of the solar year."
® The printed texts read 366 apertures. According to T.J. Rosh
Ha-Shanah ii. 5, 58a, 1. 41 ff., " The Holy One, blessed be He, created 355
windows for the service of the world : 182 in the east and 182 in the west
and one in the centre of the firmament, whence it came forth at the
beginning at the Creation." See also Ex. Rab. xv. 22: "The Holy
One, blessed be He, created 365 windows in the firmament, 183 an
the east and 182 on the west." "The Jalkut on i Kings, §185, compares
the knops mentioned in i Kings vii. 24 to " the 365 windows which
are in the east and in the west, for the sun rises in one in the east and
sets in one in the west." This section of the Jalkut is taken from the
Midrash Tadsheh (cf. Epstein, Midrash ladsaeh, p. xvi). Further
parallels are to be found in Buber's Shocher Tob, Ps. xix. 11, and Jalkut
on Psalms (xix.), § 673, and on Eccles. § 967. The astronomical theories
of our book are not in agreement with the Rabbinical system set forth
in the Talmud and Midrashim. It seems that our author held the view
that the solar year had 366 days. Each half-year the sun passes
through 91, plus 91, plus i apertures, or in one year through 366
38 RABBI ELIEZER
the east ; 90 days ^ it is in the south (east) quarter, 91 days
in the north (east) quarter and one aperture is in the middle -
and its name is Nogah.^
(At) the Tekuphah of Tishri ' (the sun) begins from the
aperture of Nogah and goes through its revolutions towards
the south quarter, through one aperture after another until
it reaches the aperture of Bilgah.^ (At) the Tekuphah of
Tebeth (the sun) begins from the aperture of Bilgah ^ and
continues its course, returning backward through one
aperture after another until it reaches the aperture of
Ta'alumah,*' through which the light goes forth,' as it is
said, " And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light "
(Job xxviii. 11). (At) the Tekuphah of Nisan (the sun)
begins from the aperture of Ta alumah,^ and it ^ goes to the
north quarter through one aperture after another until it
reaches the aperture No'aman.^" (At) the Tekuphah of
Tammu? (the sun) begins from the aperture No'aman and
goes on its course, returning backwards through aperture
after aperture until it reaches the aperture Cheder ^^ whence
the whirlwind goes forth, as it is said, " Out of the chamber
apertures. Now we find a parallel teaching in the Slavonic Enoch
xiii. 2; " And I saw the six great gates open, each gate having sixty-
one stadia." Thus far Text B. ; see Charles' ed.. p. 15, and cf. Eth.
Enoch Ixxii. 2 ff. on the course of the sun. Here also " windows " are
mentioned. The whole of this chapter should be read in comparison
with our text. Eth. Enoch adopts the strange calculation that the
solar year has 364 days, though he was acquainted with the year of 365 J
days. Does our book attempt a new solution ? or, as I venture to
suggest, did our author borrow from Slavonic Enoch ? This seems the
most probable view.
• The first editions read 91 days. This agrees with the Oxford
MSS. (d. 35) and (O. 167) and also Caster's MS.
* This aperture separates the 91 N.E. windows from the 91 S.E.
windows, and the sum total equals 183, which agrees with our text :
" it rises 183 (degrees) in the east."
^ n:iu, or " Venus." The word means light. The Venice" edition
reads " the aperture Nogah."
* About the time of the autumnal equinox ; see J .E. xii. 76 f. The
Tekuphah Tishri falls now on October 7th, about 14 daj's after the
equinox.
' The first editions read ('ht\2V) " Saturn."
• Or " darkness." See Targum on Job xxviii. 11.
' The quotation is not given by the Oxford MS. (d. 35).
• The first editions add : " through which the light goeth forth."
* The sun.
*" Or " pleasantness." Nature is at her best at this period of the
year. The MS. reads "Noaman," the first two editions read
"Naamon."
^* Or " secret chamber."
PLANETS; COURSE OF THE SUN 39
Cometh the storm ^ and cold out of the scattering winds "
{ibid, xxxvii. 9).
Through these apertures which are in the east (the sun) ||
goes forth and opposite to them^ in the west (the sun)
sets. The Shekhinah is always in the west.^ (The sun)
sets and worships ^ before the King of Kings, the Holy One,
blessed be He, saying : Lord of all worlds ! I have done
according to all that Thou hast commanded me.^
The aperture which is in the midst of the firmament is
named M'^arim" and (the sun) does not go forth or set'
therein except once in its great cycle ; ^ (thereon) it goes
through it as on the day when it was created.^ At night
the sun is in the west.^" At the Tekuphah of Tishri and at
the Tekuphah of Tebeth the sun goes on its course in the
south quarter and in the waters of the Ocean ^^ (which are)
between the ends of the heavens and the ends of the earth
where it is submerged, i- For the night is long and the way
is long 1^ until (the sun) reaches the aperture which is in the
east, (even) the aperture through which it desires to go
forth,!* as it is said, " It goeth toward the south, and turneth
^ The MS. omits the second half of the verse, substituting
" etc."
^ The apertures on the east.
^ See T.B. Baba Bathra, 25a, and T.B. Synhedrin, 91b.
* Lit. " bows down."
^ See Deut. xxvi. 14 for phraseology.
* Or " scattering winds." See Job xxxvii. 9 and Targum, in loc.
' Lit. " does not go in or go out."
* i.e. once in twenty-eight years.
* The 1st ed. reads : " on the day when the world was created, on
the day when it was created."
1° i.e. when it sets. The Prague edition reads here : " on the day it
was created at night and in the west."
^1 See John of Damascus, op. cit. ii. 9, \vith reference to the ocean
which surrounds the earth.
" Or " where it sets."
" To traverse half of the west, the north, and half of the east. The
apparent risings of the sun are all in the east from the point of view
of the spectator on the earth ; half the year the rising is south of the
earth's equator, the other half of the year this is north of the equator ;
thus the setting in the west corresponds to the rising, and accounts
for the "long way " after setting in the winter.
" At its next rising. The following reading is given by the first two
editions : " At the Tekuphoth of Nisan and Tammuz the sun goes forth
on its course to the north quarter to the waters of the Ocean which are
between the ends of the heavens and the ends of the earth ; for the
night is short and the way is short (after sunset) until it reaches
the apertures which are in the east through which it desires to go
forth."
40 RABBI ELIEZER
about unto the north " (Eccks, i. 6).^ It goes to the south
at the Tckuphah of Tishri and at the Tckuphah of Tebeth,
and turns to the north at the Tckuphah of Nisan and at the
Tekuphah of Tammu?. It goes on its course for six months
in the south quarter, and for six months in the north quarter,
and owing to its circuits the sun "^ returns to the aperture
which is in the east. The sun has three letters of (God's)
Name written upon his heart,^ and the angels lead him;^
such II as lead him by day do not lead him by night, and such
as lead him by night do not lead him by day. The sun
rides in a chariot and rises, crowned as a bridegroom,^ as
it is said, " AVhich is as a bridegroom coming out of his
chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course "
(Ps. xix, 5). The sun's rays and face, which are turned
downwards (to the earth), are of hail ; *> and were it not for
the hail which quenches the flames of fire -■ the world would
be consumed by fire, as it is said, " And there is nothing
hid from the heat thereof" {ibid. 6). In winter (the sun)
turns the upper (half of) his face downwards,^ and were it
not for the fire which warms the face of hail the world could
not endure because of the ice (cold), as it is said, " Who
can stand before his cold ? " {ibid, cxlvii. 17). These are
the ends of the ways of the sun.**
^ Ecclesiastes refers to the wind here, but our text applies this to
the sun. See the Targum to this verse of Ecclesiastes.
2 Lit. wind or quarter. See previous note.
'See Jerahmeel iii. 4: "Three letters of the Ineffable Name of
God are written upon the heart of the sun." The sun has three
different terms in Hebrew.
* Slav. Enoch xiv. 2-4 says: "When he (the sun) goes out by the
Western gate four hundred angels take his crown and bring it to the
Lord. And the sun revolves in his chariot . . . and when he comes
near the east . . . the four hundred angels bring his crown and crown
him." There is probably some connection between this passage and
P.R.E. Eth. Enoch refers to the sun's chariot {Ixxii. 5). See also
3 Baruch, ch. vi. i f. cd. Charles, Apocrypha and Pseiidepigrapha, ii.
p. 536. This Apocalypse of Baruch offers also other parallels to our
Midrash, see Introduction, and cf. J .E. ii. 550.
* The first editions add : " and he gocth forth and rejoiceth like a
strong man."
• The 1st ed. reads : " The sun's rays and face which look downwards
are of fire and his rays and face which look upwards are of hail." The
Venice edition adds "to the earth" after "downwards.' See Eth.
Enoch iv.
^ The first editions read : " liis face of fire."
" The first editions read : " the lower (half of) his face upwards,
and were it not for the fire which warms the hail."
• Compare with our text Eth. Enoch Ixxxii. 15-20.
CHAPTER VIII
THE COURSE OF THE MOON [7a. i.]
Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai, Rabban Gamaliel, R.
Ishmael, R. Ela?ar ben 'Arakh, R. Eliezer ben Hyrkanos,
and R. 'Akiba - were expounding ^ (the laws of) the Molad ^
of the moon. They said : ^ The Holy One, blessed be He,
spake one word and the heavens were created ^ as the
residence of the Throne of His Glory,' as it is said, " By the
word of the Lord were the heavens made " (Ps. xxxiii. 6).
But in connection with the (creation of the) host of heaven
He laboured with great labour.^ || What did the Holy One,
blessed be He, do ? He blew with His mouth the wind of
the breath ^ of life ^° and all the host of heaven were
created,^^ as it is said, "And all the host of them by the
breath of his mouth " (ibid.).
All the stars and constellations ^- were created at the
1 In MS. this is ch. vi.
2 On Rabban Gamaliel ii. see J.E. v. 560 ff. ; on R. Ishmael see
Bacher, T. i. 232 ff., and J.E. vi. 648 it. ; on R. Elazar b. 'Arakh see
J.E. V. 96 f. ; for life of R.'Akiba see Bacher, T. i. 263 ff. It is difficult
to understand how R. ' Akiba or R. Ishmael could have discussed Torah
with Rabban Jochanan b. Zakkai.
^ The first editions read : " were sitting and expounding."
* Molad is the conjunction of Moon and Sun; see Schwarz, Der
judische Kalender, pp. 58 f.
^ The margin of the MS. has, " and all of them " (said).
* Cf . Isa. xlv. 12. See Othijoth d. R.'Akiba, third paragraph of
letter Resh, ed. Jellinek, B.H.M. iii. p. 46, and compare John i. 3, where
the Logos or Word is the Creator.
' The first editions read : " His Kingdom."
* The first editions read : " great labour is mentioned, as it is said,
' And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth ' [ibid.)."
* Breath implies more than a mere word.
1° The first editions read ; " He blew with the wind of the breath
of His mouth."
11 " Simultaneously " is added by the first editions.
12 " And the two luminaries " is added by the first editions.
41
42 RABBI ELIEZER
beginning of ' the night of the fourth - day, one (kiminary)
did not precede the other except by the period of two-thirds
of an hour. Therefore every motion ^ of the sun (is done)
with dchbcration, and every motion of the moon is (done)
quickly.' The distance covered by the sun in thirteen
days and a fifth ^ is covered by the moon in one day,^
and (the distance) covered by the sun all the days of the
year, the moon traverses (the same distance) in forty-one
days.' All the days serve for the beginning of the Molad
of the (new) moon; (for the folloAving series ^) the days are
reckoned backward ; at the beginning of the night of the
fourth day ^ the beginning of the Molad (new moon) was
^ 6 p.m.
"^ Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., when the fourth day began.
' Lit. " action."
* Since the sun was created just before the moon the latter hastens
to overtake the former.
^ Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads : " 12 days."
' The text of the printed editions is hopelessly corrupt. They
state : " The distance covered by the sun all the days of the year is
traversed by the moon in one day."
' The ist ed. reads : " 28 days." The Venice text reads : " 30
days," which seems to be more correct than "41 days " of our MS.
Our author seems to treat numbers without an}- regard to the exact
amount. By treating fractions as though they were whole numbers,
we may find an explanation of the difficulty which has already occurred
in the previous chapter ; perhaps the 3'65|- days of the year were
described as 366 so as to avoid the fraction. The text should probably
read thus : " The distance covered by the sun in 12 days is covered by
the moon in i day, and (the distance) covered by the sun all the days
of the year, the inoon traverses in 30 days." See, however, T.J. Rosh
Ha-Shanah ii. 5. p. 58a, which is possibly the source of our text: here.
The lunar month according to the Hebrew astronomers was said to be
29 days, 12 hours, and fVg'ri parts of an hour (i minute = i8 parts).
Our book sometimes treats this as a whole number by sajnng, " the
month has 30 days," or we find the more exact reference to 29 days, 12
hours, and 40 minutes, neglecting the 4 minutes, 3^ seconds, which really
belong to the sum total. On the entire subject of the Calendar see
the valuable article by S. Poznaiiski in Hastings' Encydopcsdia of
Religion and Ethics, iii. 17 if.
* The series of the small cycles of three years in which the
Molad of the next cycle falls on the day which was anterior to that on
which the previous Molad fell. The calculation is based on the length
of the lunar month being reckoned as measuring 29 days, 12 hours, 40
minutes, so that in one year the surplus over the complete week equals
4 days, 8 hours (since each lunar month has 4 complete weeks and i day,
12 hours and 40 minutes; and this surplus multiplied by 12 equals 18
days, 8 hours, i.e. 4 days, 8 hours beyond the two weeks), and in three
years we have a surplus of 13 days (two weeks less one day) ; therefore
the day of the next series to the one in question will be one day earlier
than the preceding series ; see Schwarz, op. cit. p. 23, and Lewisohn,
Geschichte und System des jiidischen Kahnderwesens, p. 25, note 84.
* Tuesday, at 6 p.m.
THE COURSE OF THE MOON 43
in the hour of Saturn ; ^ and the mnemonic is ShNZ
KMLChSh. After three years of the small cycle the day ^
of the next cycle (reverts to) the beginning of the night of the
third day, and the beginning of the Molad (new moon) is
in the hour of Venus. After three years of the small cycle
the day ^ of the next cycle (reverts to) the beginning of the
night of the second day, the beginning of the Molad is in
the hour of Jupiter. After three years of the small cycle the
day - of the next cycle (reverts to) the beginning of the
night of the first day, the beginning of the Molad || is in
the hour of Mercury.^ After three years of the small cycle
the day ^ of the next cycle (reverts to) the beginning of the
night of the Sabbath, the beginning of the Molad is in
the hour of Mars. After three years of the small cycle the
day - of the next cycle (reverts to) the beginning of the
night of the sixth day, the beginning of the Molad is in
the hour of the Moon. After three years of the small cycle
the day ^ of the next cycle (reverts to) the beginning of the
night of the fifth day, the beginning of the Molad is in the hour
of the Sun. After three years of the small cycle the day ^
of the next cycle (reverts to) the beginning of the night of
the fourth day, the beginning of the Molad reverts to the
hour of Saturn as in the hour when it was created.
The great cycle of the moon is 21 years ; it has 7 small
cycles each containing 3 years.'* The total of the days of
the lunar month is 29| days, 40 minutes, and 73 parts.^
Each constellation serves the days of the lunar month for
2 days and 8 hours ; three constellations serve for
7 days. The chief ^ which begins on the new moon (of
the lunar month) is the same which concludes at the end
of the lunar month.' The moon becomes new at every
1 See supra, p. 32, note i. Saturn is represented by Sh.
^ Of the Molad at the beginning of the new cycle.
^ The MS. reads : " Kokhab Chamah," which is not the usual
appellation for Mercury ; see Zunz, Gesammelte Schriften, iii. p. 243.
* The first editions add : " Each constellation ministers to the
days of the lunar month."
* As we have seen, i hour =1080 parts, therefore 73 parts = 4^
minutes. Luria holds that the expression " 73 parts " is an interpolation.
See T.B. Rosh HaShanah, 25a, on the question of the duration of a
lunar month, which agrees with our text.
' The constellation.
' The tvvelve constellations serve or influence 28 days of the lunar
month; the remaining i^ days, etc., are under the influence of the con-
stellation which presided at the beginning of the month.
44 RABBI ELIEZER
Molad, once at night and the next time ^ by day, || and
this is their sign : " And it was evening and it was
morning " (Gen. i. 5). Between one Molad and (the corre-
sponding) Molad in the ensuing year (there elapse) 4 days,
8 hours, and 876 parts.-
From one small cycle to the next cycle (elapse) 13 days,
2619 parts.^ When * the sun goes in the south quarter,
the moon goes in the north quarter, and when the sun goes
in the north quarter '^ the moon goes in the south quarter.
All the hours serve for the beginning of the Molad of
the moon in a retrospective order, according to the order
" ShLKNChM and Z." « In the first year at the be-
ginning of the night of the fourth day the beginning of the
Molad (conjunction of the moon) is in the hour of Saturn (Sh).
In the second year' the beginning of the conjunction of the
1 Lit. " once."
- The last editions read : " 4 days. 8 hours, and 873 parts." This is
incorrect. Luria reads : " 4 days and 8 hours." The basis of his assump-
tion, which is unwarranted, is the theory that the lunar month =4 weeks
and / day, 12 hours, and 40 minutes, and this surplus multiplied by 12
= 18 days, 8 hours, i.e. 2 weeks and 4 days, 8 hours. Again this surplus
multiplied by 3 (the small cycle) =13 days exactly. Our MS. is quite
correct; see Hastings' Encyclopcedia of Religion and Ethics, iv. p. 120.
The 1st and 2nd eds. add : " the difference between a great cycle axid a
small cycle is only 13 daj's." ^
^ This means 13 days, 2 hours, 25^ minutes.
* The text in the printed edition reads : " In the west at the time."
The reference is probably to the relation between the position of the
sun and moon (i) in the winter and (2) at the beginning of the con-
junction of the moon and >un. See T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, 24a, with
Rashi's commentary at top of page.
^ In the summer the sun is more in the north than in the winter,
and the moon is in conjunction in the south-west, and in the summer
its position is south of the sun at its conjunction.
* The 1st ed. omits this mnemonic.
' " In the hour following " is found in some of the late editions.
The difference between one year and the next in this connection is
taken to be 4 days, 8 hours ; if the first Molad were at 6 p.m. Tuesday,
in the next year it will be 4 days, 8 hours later, i.e. Sunday 2 a.m.,
which is the hour of the moon. The following table will summarize
the text : —
The beginning of the Molad at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the hour of Saturn.
2 a.m.
Sunday ,,
the Moon
10 a m.
Thursday
Mercury-.
6 p.m.
Monday
Venus.
2 a.m.
Saturday
the S in.
10 a.m.
Wednesday „
Mais.
6 p.m.
Sunday
J upiter.
^ This is the interval between each small cycle, neglecting the
fractions.
THE COURSE OF THE MOON 45
moon is in the hour of the Moon (L). In the third year, in the
following hour, the beginning of the conjunction of the moon
is in the hour of Mercury (K).^ In the fourth year the be-
ginning of the conjunction of the moon is in the hour of
Venus (N). In the fifth year, in the hour following, the be-
ginning of the conjunction of the moon is in the hour of the
Sun (Ch). In the sixth year the beginning of the conjunc-
tion of the moon is in the hour of Mars (M). In the seventh
year, in the hour following, the beginning of the conjunction
of the moon is || in the hour of Jupiter (Z) in the hour follow-
ing.- The third and fifth years are like the seventh. In like
manner for three times these hours serve at the conjunction
of the moon retrospectively until the (expiration of) the 21
years of the cycle.
All the constellations serve the moon by night from
the four corners of the world : ^ 3 in the north, 3 in the
south, 3 in the east, and 3 in the west. All the hours ^
serve the moon by night from the four corners of the
world : 2 in the south, 2 in the north, 2 in the east, and 2
in the west. In the hour in which it began to serve in the
Speaking of the sun and moon, Eth. Enoch says (Ixxviii. 5) : " And
they set and enter the portals of the west, and make their revolutions
to the north and come forth through the eastern portals on the face
of the heaven." The old Jewish belief as to the relation between the
motion of the sun and moon was as follows : According to Rashi
(T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, loc. cit.) the conjunction of every Molad (new
moon) takes place when the moon is in the south-west comer of its
orbit.
In winter since the sun does not traverse the west in the daytime
save when it sets, therefore the moon is in the west before the sun gets
there, because the moon during the first half of the lunar month goes
to the north, whilst the sun revolves in the south.
In summer the sun goes over the greater part of the west in the
daj'time ; and as it is then revolving in the north it is there before the
moon, for then the moon is chiefly in the south. Where the sun sets
there the moon rises.
1 See supra, p. ^3, note 3.
2 " In the hour following " and the next sentence do not occur
in the printed texts.
^ See Jalkut, Ex. § 41 8, and Jalkut, i Kings, § 185, according to the
latter passage, " The twelve constellations (i.e. the Zodiac) through
which the world is ruled, three turn to the north . . . Aries, Leo, and
Sagittarius ; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricornus are turned to the west ;
Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius are turned to the south ; Cancer, Scorpio,
and Pisces are turned to the east." An entirely different order is
given in the Jalkut on Exodus, loc. cit. Cf. T.B. Pesachim, 94a, and
see Eth. Enoch Ixxii. 2 ff.
* i.e. the stars of the hours or the seven planets. This sentence is
wanting in the ist ed.
46 RABBI ELTEZER
south, (therein) it finishes in the west ; ' and so ^vith all its
circuits.
All the great ^ luminaries of the stars ^ are situated in
the south except Ursa Major,' which is placed in the north.
All the Ma??ikin •' which move in the firmament and the
angels^ who felP from their holy place (even) from heaven.^
(when) they ascend to hear the (Divine) Word behind the
veil ^ they are pursued ^^ with a rod of fire, and they return ^^
to their place. ^-
10 days, 21 hours, and 204 parts are the excess of the
days of the solar year over the days of the lunar year ; ^^ and
1 The eight hours refer to the length of the shortest night accord-
ing to our book; see infra, p. 322. The seven planets are placed
thus : two in the south, two in the north, two in the east, and
the seventh planet in the west ; in addition, the first planet which
served in the south serves at the end of the night (8th hour) in the
west.
-The ist ed. reads " small."
' The expression is borrowed from Ezek. xxxii. 8. The seven
planets are not referred to in this connection. The Pal. Targum,
Ex. xl. 4, " And thou shalt bring in the lamp-stand on the south side,
because thence are the paths of the sun and moon, and the pathways
of the luminaries."
* nbiii, " waggon." The constellation Taurus of the Zodiac or Ursa
Major as a star is probably implied ; see Rashi on T.B. Berakhoth, 58b.
^ See supra, p. 14, note 8.
* The fall of the angels recalls Judc 6 ; Jubilees v. 6, 7 ; Slav. Enoch
xviii. ; Eth. Enoch vi.-xvi., xix., and Ixxxvi. ; Test. XII Pat. (Reuben,
V. 6, 7), and Fragments of a Zadokite Work (ed. Schechter, iii. 18). See
infra, pp. 99 and 160. The fall of the angels is a favourite subject
with the Church Fathers, e.g. Athenagoras, Embassy, xxiv. ; Justin
Martyr, Second Apology, v. ; and Dialogue with Trypho, Ixxix.
' The first editions add : " from their greatness."
* The first editions add : " in the days of the generation of Enosh."
This view opposes the doctrine of the Book of Jubilees v. 6-9, which
holds that the fall of the angels took place in the days of Noah. Cf .
Eth. Enoch vi. 4-6. On the "generation of Enosh" see Rabbinic
Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 37, 193, and 248 ; Jerahmeel xxiv. 9, xxvi.
20 ; Pal. Targum, Gen. iv. 26. On the "fall of the angels" see Gen.
Rab. xxvi. 7 ; Pal. Targum, Gen. vi. 4 ; Jerahmeel xxv., and Gaster's
Introduction, p. Ixxiii, for further parallels. In Christian literature
this legend also occurs; see The Clementine Homilies, xiii.
^ See supra, p. 23, note 5.
'^ 1st ed. reads : " they are separated."
^^ The first editions add : " backwards."
^^ This is missing in the ist ed.
^^ The 204 parts =11 J minutes; Luria holds that this is a later
addition to our text. On the astronomical question see Gen. Rab.
xxxiii. 7. Our reading has been used by the Pal. Targum, Gen. i. 16
(see Ginsburger, Pseudo- Jonathan, p. 2, note 8). The Slavonic Enoch
says, " And there remain 11 days over, which belong to the solar circle
of the whole year " (xvi. 5). According to Eth. Enoch Ixxviii. 15, 16,
the lunar year has 354 days and the solar year has 364 days, thus
THE COURSE OF THE MOON 47
the intercalation is introduced to equalize the days of the
solar |] year with the days of the lunar year.^ The sun and
the moon begin (their courses) at the new moon of Nisan,
the Sim goes before the moon at its Tekuphah ; - and Aries
begins to serve before it by day, and all the constellations
serve thereafter ^ according to their order. The moon
goes in the opposite direction '* and Aries begins to serve
before it ^ by night, and all the constellations serve thereafter
according to their order, until the year of the small cycle,
vmtil the year of intercalation (comes round). (When) the
intercalated month comes round it supersedes (or thrusts
aside) the new moon (of Nisan) and remains at the new moon
of Shebat,^ and so on until the twelve ^ intercalated months
the difference between them amounts to lo days. Jubilees vi. 32-36
holds that the moon " comes in from year to year 10 days too soon."
1 On the intercalation see infra, Chapter VIII. p. 57.
2 According to Gikatilla's Ginnath Egoz (ed. Hanau), p. 50b, the
text should read : " The sun goes before the moon according to her
ordinance."
' Lit. " after it," i.e. after Aries.
* Lit. " backwards."
^ The MS. reads " before him," i.e. the sun. The first printed
editions read : " before her," i.e. the moon.
* The intercalated month is always interposed between Adar and
Nisan, so as to ensure the fall of the Passover in the early spring. The
first printed editions read here, "Adar," which appears to be the correct
reading. The Venice edition adds : " and thus is it until the year of
the small cycle ^ comes round ; (when) the intercalated month comes it
displaces the new moon and remains at the new moon of Tebeth." ^
' The text is questioned by Luria and others. If instead of " 12"
we read " 7 " then we have the cycle of 19 years with 7 intercalated
months, which will be presently considered. Luria thinks that " the
sun and moon are equal at the commencement of the eve of the fourth
day in the hour of Saturn," as " when they were created " only applies
at the end of the cycle of 84 years. This number is obtained by multiply-
ing 12 (the number of the constellations) by 7 (the number of the
planets) ; or by multiplying the solar cycle of 28 years by 3 ; or by
multiplying the lunar cycle of 21 years by 4; possibly this 84- year
cycle was intended to be used for astrological purposes.
^ This small cycle is not the same as we have already discussed,
namely, the 3 -years cycle ; it is the small cycle of intercalation which
will be explained in Chapter VIII.
2 The 1st ed. reads " Shebat." At the second intercalation when
the month is interposed before Nisan the intercalated month will be
at the new moon of the month before Adar {i.e. Shebat) if considered
in relation to the first year of the intercalation ; and in the next year
when the intercalation takes place the intercalated month before
Nisan will really begin at the new moon of the month before Shebat {i.e.
Tebeth) if considered in relation to the first year of the series. Thus
after 12 years the intercalated month would again begin at the new
moon of Adar. This is probably the meaning of the text which speaks
of " 12 intercalated months."
48 RABBI ELIEZER
(come round) when the sun and the moon are equal (again)
at the commencement of the eve of the fourth day in the
hour of Saturn in the hour when they were created. Between
each Molad (conjunction of tlic moon and sun) there are only
36 hours, 40 minutes, and 73 ^ minims (parts).
The moon does not disappear from the firmament save
for the twinkhng of an eye ; even though there were a full
thread (of light) surrounding it in the east and in the west,-
the eye has not the power to see the moon until eight large ^
hours (have elapsed). (The large hours) arc two hours for
each (large) hour, either at the beginning of the Molad
(conjunction) of the moon or at the end of the Molad of the
moon.
The number of the days of the lunar year is 354 days, a
third of a day, and 876 minims. ' |1 All the hours of a lunar
month are 708 hours and 40 minutes ; all the hours of a
lunar year are 8504 hours.'^
All the constellations serve the Molad of the moon and
also the generations ^ of the children of men ; ' upon them
» The " 73 minims" must be considered as an interpolation; see
supVi' , p. 43, note 5.
2 That is, at the beginning and end of the Molad ; see T.B. Rosh
Ha-Shanah, 20b, Rashi, in loc. • • v
^ The large hour equals two ordinary hours, as is explained in the
next line of the text. This passage explaining the large hour is not in
the printed editions. According to T.B. Rosh Ha Shanah, loc. cit., tlie
Palestinian Jews were unable to discern the moon at the Molad, for
6 hours after and 18 hours before the Molad ; in Babylon the reverse
rule obtained. The reading "6 hours" in this Talmudic passage
seems to Luria to be the appropriate reading in our text. Assuming,
however, that our text is correct, we might argue that Palestine could
not be the place where our book arose.
* 876 minims equal 48§ minutes. There is evidently something
amiss here, because the next sentence tells us that the lunar month
has 708 hours and -o minutes, which means that the lunar month
equals 29 days, 12 hours, and 40 minutes. On this basis the lunar
year has 354" days, 8 hours. Must we assume that the " 876 minims "
are an interpolation ? This figure equals 48I minutes, which in one
lunar month equal 4i'i5 minutes or 73 minims.
° 8504 hours =12 times 29 days, 12 hours, and 40 minutes.
« Or, " historv."
' The knowledge of the influence of the stars and planets on terres-
trial affairs or, in other words, astrology was believed to enable men to
know the future. Our book bases this on the text, which is quoted
in this paragraph ; also Gen. v. i, which was read as follows : "This
is the calculation of the generations of man." See also Job xxxviii. 19,
" Where is the way to the dwelling of light. . . . And that thou
shouldst discern the paths to the house thereof ? Thou knowest for
thou wast then born." The sun, moon, and the planets are referred to
in this chapter, showing that they have some connection with the time
THE COURSE OF THE MOON 49
the world stands, and everyone who is wise and understands,
he understands the Molad of the moon and the generations
of the children of men, and concerning them the text says,
"And let them be for signs,^ and for seasons" {ibid. 14).
The signs of the hours shall not depart from serving the sun
by day and the moon by night.
In three cycles of the sun or in four cycles of the moon ^
there are 84 years, which are one hour^ of the day of the
Holy One, blessed be He. When the sun and moon become
equal ^ at the beginning of the eve of the fourth day and at
the hour of Saturn in the hour when they were created, and
in the hour when the flames of the moon reach the sun by
day at the degree (or ascent) of 60 (degrees), it passes therein
and extinguishes its light ; and in the hour when the flames
of the sun reach the moon at night in the degree (or ascent)
of 40 (degrees), it passes through it and extinguishes its
light.f^
Rabbi Nehorai said : It is the decree of the King ^ that
when Israel sins || and fails to intercalate the year as is be-
coming, the Holy One, blessed be He, acts in His mercy at
the time when the flame of the sun reaches the moon by
night at 40 degrees (or ascents), then the Holy One^ blessed
and duration of life. Slav. Enoch xix. 2 says, " And these orders
arrange and study the revolutions of the stars, and the changes of the
moon, and revolutions of the sun, and superintend the good and evil
condition of the world." The N.T. also implies a belief in the
doctrines of astrology, e.g. Matt. ii. 9 ; see Jeremias, Bahylonisches
im N.T., p. 52. This book of Jeremias is the best book on N.T.
astrology ; for astrology among the Jews see Low, Gesammelte Schriften,
ii. 11.5 ff.
1 The first editions add the next word in the verse, " and for
seasons " ; lliis is wanting in our MS.
^ The lunar cycle referred to here consists of 21 years, as stated
supra, p. 43. The solar cycle consists of 2S years, see supra, p. 34.
^ God's day equals 1000 years, therefore i hour (reckoning 12 hours
to the day) equals 83^ years. The third part of the year is reckoned
as a whole year. This is another instance of the use of fractions as
whole numbers, which seems to be a characteristic of our author. The
Church Fathers use this idea of God's day lasting 1000 years ; see
Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Ixxxi., and Irenaeus, adv. Hcsr.
v. 28. 3 ; and cf. Slavonic Enoch xxxiii. i f.
* That is, they begin their courses as at the Creation.
^ This refers to the echpses. It is not clear what the 60 or 40 degrees
or ascents mean here.
® The first editions read: "The decree of the King is made public
by a word." See Jalkut, Jer. § 285. Instead of the reading " by a
word " Luria suggests the reading " in the world," referring to the
eclipses which are visible over a large portion of the world.
50 RABBI ELIEZER
be He, makes the moon dim and hides one of the Synhedrion.^
When Israel does the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, in
His great mercy He makes the sun dim and He sends forth
His anger upon the nations of the world,- as it is said,
" Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the nations,
and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven,^ for the nations
are dismayed at them " (Jer. x. 2).-* Just as the moon's
light does not rule over the sun's light ^ by day, nor does
the sun's light rule over the moon's light ^ by night, likewise
the calculation of the moon does not rule by day nor does
the calculation of the sun (obtain) by night,' and the one
does not trespass on the boundary of the other. ^
The dwelling of the moon is between cloud and thick
darkness ^ made like two dishes turned one over the other, i"
and when it is the conjunction of the moon these two clouds
turn in the east quarter ^^ and (the moon) goes forth from
between them ^- like a ram's horn.^^ On the first nicfht
(is revealed) one measure (of light), on the second night
1 Cf. T.B. Synhedrin, 37a, and Cant. Rab. on Cant. vii. 3. Here " to
hide " means to conceal in the future Ufe ; this, in other words, is a
warning not to neglect the intercalation. According to the Jesod 'Olam
iii. 17 the moon is the "chief" of the Synhedrion, which dies at the
eclipse by being hidden. For eclipse in N.T. see Luke xxiii. 44, 45.
- The first editions read here also " the nations of the world."
Later editions read : " worshippers of idols."
^ The first editions continue the verse.
■• Some of the old editions read here : " the nations (or according
to the Prague edition ' the worshippers of idols ') are dismayed, but
not Israel." See Pseudo-Seder Elijahu Zutta (ed. Friedmann, p. 10
and note 40) on the eclipses, where the Talmudic and Midrashic
sources are fully given. The astronomical question is treated at
length in Israeh's Jesod "Olam, loc. cit. ; see also ]Maimonides, Hilkhoth
Kiddnsh Ha-Chodesh.
* According to Slavonic Enoch xvi. 7 the moon shines with her
own light.
•"' See T.B. ChuUin, Gob. When the sun is invisible the moon shines.
^ The first editions read : " We do not count the calculation of the
sun at night, nor the calculation of the moon by day."
* Sec, however. Gen. Rab. vi. 3 for the opposite opinion. Accord-
ing to Lev. Rab. xxvi. 4 the sun and moon borrow light from one
another.
' This is based on Job xxxviii. 9. On the text see Buber's intro-
duction to Sepher Ha-Orah, p. 119.
1" The first printed editions insert here : " and (the moon) goes forth
from between them."
" The first printed editions read : " turn their faces to the west
quarter."
»* See Singer, p. 128: " bringing forth the sun from his place, and
the moon fiom her dwelling."
** At rising.
THE COURSE OF THE MOON 51
the second measure, and so on until the half of the month
when the moon is fully revealed, and from the middle of the
month these two clouds turn their faces in the west quarter.^
The corner {i.e. crescent) of the moon with which it comes
forth first,-^ (the same) begins to enter and is covered therein
by the two (clouds) on the first night ^ (by) one measure, on
the second night (by) a second measure, and so on to the end
of the month until || it is entirely covered. And whence do
we know that it is placed between two clouds ? Because
it is said, " When I made the cloud the garment thereof,
and thick darkness ^ a swaddlingband for it " (Job xxxviii.
9). And whence do we know that it becomes entirely
covered ? Because it is said, " Blow ye the trumpet in
the new moon, at the covering,^ on our solemn feast day "
(Ps. Ixxxi. 3). " At the covering," on the day when it is
entirely covered, blow ye the trumpet in the new moon.^
^ This is also the reading of the ist ed. The Venice edition reads :
" in the quarter of the east."
2 See Jalkut Makhiri, Ps. Ixxxi. 14. pp. 25a, b, and Jalkut, Job
xxxviii. 9, S 923.
* After full moon.
* The first editions give the next word of the text, whereas our
MS. has " etc."
^ " Covering "; see 'Arukh (ed. Kohut), iv. p. 266a, which has a
different text of our passage. For further reference to the sun and
moon see T.J. Berakhoth i. i. ; T.J. Rosh Ha-Shanah 11. 5. 58a ; Shocher
Tob (Ps. xix.), pp. 168 f . ; Pesikta de R. Kahana, P. Ha-Chodesh, 41b f . ;
and Ex. Rab. xv. 22.
* This verse of Ps. Ixxxi. 3 is applied by the Liturgy (see Singer,
p. 115) and by the Midrashim {e.g. Shocher Tob, Ps. Ixxxi. § 5) to the
New Year. The fact that the Shophar (ram's horn) was mentioned a
few lines previously seems to point to this section as forming part of
a Midrash for the New Year.
CHAPTER Villi
THE PRINCIPLE OF INTERCALATION [9 A. i.]
On the 28th of EHul the sun and the moon were created.^
The number of years, months, days, nights,^ terms, seasons,
cycles, and intercalation were before the Holy One, blessed
be He,^ and He intercalated the years and afterwards He
delivered the (calculations) to the first man in the garden
of Eden,^ as it is said, " This is the calculation " for the
generations of Adam " (Gen. v. 1), the calculation of the
world is therein for the generations of the children of
Adam.
Adam handed on the tradition to Enoch, ^ who was
initiated in the principle of intercalation, and he intercalated
the year, as it is said, " And Enoch walked with God "
{ibid. 22). Enoch walked in the ways of the calculation
concerning the world which God had delivered to Adam.
1 This is ch. vii. in the MS. The printed editions present a good
deal of the material in this chapter in a different order to that of our
MS.
- See T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, iia and 27a, for the view of R. EUezer
that the world was created in Tishri. The heavenly bodies were
created on Ellul the 28th. The work of creation began on the 25th
of Ellul, see also Lev. Rab. xxix. i. In the preceding chapters the
assumption was that the Creation took place in Nisan, cl. siipy.i, pp.
351., 47. This opinion has also the support of the Talmud B. Rosh
Ha-Shanah, 12a. Part of this chapter is quoted in the " Mcgillah of
Abiathar," edited by Schechter in J.Q.R. xiv. pp. 463 ff.
3 The first editions add: " hours." Cf. Wisdom vii. i8f.
* See Gen. Rab. iii. 7 as to the calculations prior to the Creation.
* In a holy place ; for, according to our book, the Garden of Eden
was near Mount Moriah in Palestine. See infra, p. 143.
^ See supra, p. 4S, note 7, and cf. T.J. Rosh Ha-Shanah i. 3. 57b
and Pesikta de R. Kahana P. Ha-Chodcsh, p. 43b.
' The mention of Enoch in connection with the Calendar is signi-
ficant, suggesting an acquaintance with the Calendar systems associated
with Enoch in the pseudepigraphic literature. The fact that accord-
ing to the O.T. Enoch lived 365 years is also noteworthy in this
connection.
52
PRINCIPLE OF INTERCALATION 53
And Enoch delivered the principle of intercalation to Noah,^
and he was initiated in the principle of intercalation, and
he intercalated the year, as it is said,^ " While the earth
remaineth,^ seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat,
and summer and Avinter" {ibid. viii. 22). "Seed-time"
refers to the Tekuphah of Tishri,* "harvest" refers to
the Tekuphah of Nisan, " cold " refers to the Tekuphah
of Tebeth, and " heat " refers to the Tekuphah of
Tammuz ; " summer " is in its season and " winter " is
in its season.''
The counting of the sun is by day || and the counting of
the moon is by night, " they shall not cease." ^
Noah handed on the tradition to Shem, and he was
initiated in the principle of intercalation ; he intercalated
the years and he was called a priest, as it is said, " And
Melchizedek ' king of Salem . . . was a priest of God Most
High " {ibid. xiv. 18). Was Shem the son of Noah a priest ?
But because he was the first-born, and because he ministered
to his God by day and by night, therefore was he called a
priest.^ Shem delivered the tradition to Abraham ; he was
initiated in the principle of intercalation and he intercalated
the year, and he (also) was called priest, as it is said, " The
1 This should probably read " Methuselah," and the text should
continue, " who handed it on to Noah."
2 Luria's text here needs correction.
^ The rest of the verse is given by the first editions.
* Pal. Targum of this verse reads : " During all the days of the earth,
(there shall be) sowing at the Tekuphah of Tishri, and harvest at the
Tekuphah of Nisan, cold at the Tekuphah of Tebeth and warmth at the
Tekuphah of Tammuz, and summer and winter, and days and night
shall not fail." Tekuphah means not only season, but also the time of
solstice and equinox according to the season.
* The " Megillah of Abiathar," p. 463, adds : " summer in its season
and winter in its season."
® This section is based on the text " day and night shall not cease "
(Gen. viii. 22).
' Melchizedek is identified by our book with Shem. According
to T.B. Nedarim, 32b, the priestly office held by Melchizedek's successors
passed to those of Abraham ; see Beer, Btich der Jubilden, p. 74. The
question of the identification of Shem with Melchizedek occurs in the
Talmud [loc. cit. in this note), and see Buber's note 18 on p. 30 of the
Midrash Agadah, cf. also Pal. Targum and Jer. Targum on Gen. xiv. 18,
and Gen. Rab. xliii. 6 and Ivi. 9. See also the note of Charles in his
ed. of Jubilees, p. loi. A considerable part of this section of our text
occurs in Jalkut Makhiri, Ps. ex. 16, but the quotation from Gen. xiv. 18
is omitted. There are other variations in the text.
* The verse from Gen. xiv. 18 occurs here in the printed editions,
and not above as in our MS.
54 RABBI EI.IEZER
Lord hath sworn, and will not repent,^ Thou art a priest for
ever after the order 2 of Melchizedek" (Ps. ex. 4). Whence
do we know that Shem delivered the tradition to Abraham ?
Because it is said, " After the order of Melchizedek "
(ibid.). Abraham delivered the tradition to Isaac, and he
was initiated in the principle of intercalation, and he inter-
calated the year after the death of our father Abraham, as
it is said, " And it came to pass after the death of Abraham,
that God blessed Isaac his son " (Gen. xxv. 11), because
he had been initiated in the principle of intercalation and
had intercalated the year (therefore) He blessed him \\ith
the blessing of eternity.^ Isaac gave to Jacob '^ all the
blessings and delivered to him the principle of intercalation.
When Jacob went out of the (Holy) Land, he attempted to
intercalate the year outside the (Holy) Land. The Holy
One, blessed be He, said to him : Jacob ! Thou hast no
authority to intercalate the year outside the land (of Israel) ;
behold, Isaac thy father is in the (Holy) Land,'' he will inter-
calate the year, as it is said, "And God appeared unto
Jacob again, || when he came from Paddan-Aram, and blessed
him " {ibid. xxxv. 9). Why " again " ? Because the
first time He was revealed to him. He prevented him
from intercalating the year outside the (Holy) Land ; but
when he came to the (Holy) Land the Holy One, blessed
1 The rest of the verse is not given by the MS., which merelvadds
" etc."
- Cf . Heb. V. 6 ff . , on this theme. The Hebrew 'man might suggest the
meaning of "ruling" ; the Oxford Gesenius, p. 184, renders the word :
" after the order," or " manner of." Is it merely a coincidence that
the Test. XII Pat., Benj. x. 6, mentions the same names as in our text
and in the same order ? — " Then shall ye see Enoch, Noah, and Shem,
and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob."
» Or " of the world."
* See Jalkut Makhiri, Pss. loc. cit., which reads : " And Isaac handed
on to Jacob all the blessings, and handed to him the principle of inter-
calation," confirming the accuracy of the text o^ our MS. The printed
editions read : " Isaac delivered the tradition to Jacob, and he was initi-
ated in the principle of intercalation, and he intercalated the year."
^ Although Isaac was blind, nevertheless the duty of intercalating
the year devolved upon him and not upon Jacob when absent from the
Holy Land. The Church offers a parallel to the subject-matter of
our text in the famous controversy as to the right calculation for
Easter ; see the epistle sent to Pope Hilarus by Victorius in the fifth
century. In this letter we have several references to the lunar cycle
of 84 years which also occurs in our book. (For text see Thalhofer's
Bibliothek der Kirchenvdter, Die Briefe der Piipstc, vi. pp. 16-30; cf.
also Ideler, Handbuch der Chronologic, 11, p. 276, and see also "The
Paschal Canon of Anatolius of Alexandria," in A .X.C.L. xiv. pp. 411 &.)
PRINCIPLE OF INTERCALATION 55
be He, said to him : Jacob ! Arise, intercalate the year, as
it is said, " And God appeared unto Jacob again, . . . and
blessed him " (ibid.), because he was initiated in the principle
of the intercalation, and He blessed him (with) the blessing
of the world.^
Jacob delivered to Joseph and his brethren the principle
of intercalation, and they intercalated the year in the land
of Egypt. (When) Joseph and his brethren died, the inter-
calations ceased from Israel in Egypt, as it is said, " And
Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation "
(Ex. i. 6). Just as the intercalations were diminished from
the Israelites in the land^ of Egypt, likewise in the future
will the intercalations be diminished at the end of the
fourth kingdom^ until Elijah, be he remembered for good,
shall come.* Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, was re-
vealed to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, likewise in the future will
He be revealed to them ^ at the end of the fourth kingdom,^
as it is said, " And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron
in the land of Egypt saying,'^ This month shall be unto you
the beginning of months " (ibid. xii. 1, 2). What is the signi-
ficance of the word " saying " ? Say to them,^ Till now ^ the
principle of intercalation was with Me, henceforth it is your
right to intercalate thereby the year.^" Thus were the
' i.e. the revelation of the Divine Name El Shaddai. " When I
suspend judgment concerning man's sins, I am called El Shaddai,"
says the Midrash Tanchuma, Shemoth, § xx., and cf. infra, pp. 264 ff.
In the first editions here follows the section beginning with the words :
" Hence the (Sages) have said."
2 The first editions read : " the Egyptian bondage."
^ The first editions read here : " bondage of the fourth kingdom."
* The first editions read : " until King Messiah shall come." This
sign, due to the ignorance which will obtain in the period just before the
advent of the Messiah, is to be compared with the " woes of the Messianic
age" in Jubilees xxiii. 19: " For they have forgotten commandment,
and covenant, and feasts, and months, and Sabbaths, and jubilees."
* The Venice ed. reads : " to us."
* Some editions read " exile," or " bondage."
' The MS. does not continue the verse ; the first editions add : " This
month shall be unto you."
^ The first editions add : " to Israel."
* From the death of Joseph during the period of bondage.
^^ See Pesikta de R. Kahana, loc. cit., which reads: "it (the
principle of intercalation) is delivered unto you." See also T.J.
Rosh Ha-Shanah i. 13. 57d and Ex. Rab. xv. 2. The order of the
narrative here in the MS. differs from that of the printed texts. On
the astronomical knowledge of Moses, see Clement of Alexandria,
Strom. I. xxiii., and cf. Acts vii. 22.
56 RABBI ELIEZER
Israelites wont to intercalate the year in the (Holy) Land.
When they were exiled to Babylon || they intercalated the
year through those who were left in the (Holy) Land. When
they were all exiled and there were not any (Jews) left in
the (Holy) Land/ they intercalated the year in Babylon.
(When) Ezra and all the community with him ^ went (to
Palestine), Ezekiel ^ wished to intercalate the year in Babylon;
(then) the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him : Ezekiel !
Thou hast no authority to intercalate the year outside the
Land ; behold, Israel thy brethren,^ they will intercalate
the year,^ as it is said, " Son of man, when the house of
Israel dwell in their own land " (Ezek. xxxvi. 17). Hence
(the Sages) have said. Even when the righteous and the
wise are outside the Land, and the keeper of sheep and herds
are in the Land, they do not intercalate the year ^ except
through the keeper of sheep and herds in the Land. Even
when prophets arc outside the Land and the ignorant '^
are in the Land they do not intercalate the year except
through the ignorant who are in the land (of Israel),^ as it
is said, " Son of man, when the house of Israel dwell in their
ozvn land "{ibid.) it is their duty to intercalate the year.
On account of three things -' is the year intercalated,
on account of trees, grass, and the seasons (Tekuphoth).
If two of these (signs) be available and not the third,
^ After the murder of Gedaliah ; see T.B. Sabbath, 145b, and Seder
'Olam Kab. xxvii. p. 62a. Tho Land = Pal 'Stine.
- This is based on Ezra ii. i ; cf. T.B. 'Arakhin, 13a and 32a.
^ On the question whether Ezekiel could have been a contemporary
of Ezra, see Rashi on Ezek. xxix. (end), and cf. infra, p. 249. The
spt csal privileges attached to the Holy Land are noteworthy in con-
sidering th ' provenance of our book.
* i.e. your brethren in the land of Israel, see 2 Kings xxv. 22 and
Jer. xliii. 5.
* The order of narrative in our MS. differs from that of the printed texts.
* This passage if rendered literally reads: " Even the righteous and
the wise outside the Land and the keeper of sheep and herds in the
Land, then the year is intercalated only by the keeper of sheep and
herds." See T.B. Synhedrin, i8b and 26a, for instances of intercala-
tion by shepherds. Cf. the narrative of the Magi and the Star in
Matt. ii. I ff.
'Or "commoners" (t3vin = t5iurr7?5), see T.B. Nedarim, 78a. For
an instance of intercalation outside Palestine see T.B. Berakhoth,
63a, and cf. Tosaphoth on Jebamoth, 115a.
" The printed editions differ from our MS. here with reference to
the arrangement of the material.
* The first editions read : " signs." This is also the reading in the
Oxford MS. (d. 35). See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 221, note 3.
PRINCIPLE OF INTERCALATION 57
they do not intercalate the year, (that is to say) neither
because of the trees nor because of the grass. If one (sign) ^
be available and the other two be absent, they do not inter-
calate the year on account of the Tekuphoth.^ If the
Tekuphah of Tebeth had occurred on the 20th ^ day of !| the
month or later, they intercalate the year ; but till the 20th
day of the month Tebeth or earlier they do not intercalate
the year.
The cycle of intercalation is 19 years, and there are
7 small cycles ^ therein ; some of these are (separated by)
3 years, some (by) 2 years, others (are separated by) 3 or
2 years, or (by) 3, 3, and 3 years (the order of the cycles
being) : 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years.
There are two (sets) of three years' cycles.^
^ i.e. the Tekuphah. Luria thinks that the reading should be as
follows : "If two signs be available and not the third we intercalate
on account of the presence of the trees and the grass ; if one sign be
available and the other two be absent we do not intercalate on account
of the Tekuphah" (see T.B. Synhedrin, 12a, b, and cf. T.B. Rosh
Ha-Shanah, 21a).
2 " This is an error, " says Luria ; " it should be the i6th " ; see T.B.
Rosh Ha-Shanah, loc. cit., and T.B. Synhedrin, 13a : for if the Tekuphah
of Tebeth fell on the 2 ist of Tebeth, then the Tekuphah of Nisan would be
on the 24th of Nisan (91 days' interval), which is the day after Passover,
accordingly Passover would not be in Abib (the Tekuphah in Nisan),
and therefore Adar Sheni should be intercalated. The reading in our text
(the 20th) is approved by Schwarz {Der jiidische Kalender, p. 36, note 3).
The " Megillah of Abiathar " {op. cit. p. 471) reads: " If the Tekuphah
of Tebeth had occurred from half (of the month) and later they inter-
calate the year, but till half (of the month) and earlier they do not
intercalate the year." The printed editions read : " If the Tekuphah
had occurred by the 20th day of the month or earlier they intercalate
the year ; but from the 20th day of the month or later they do not
intercalate the year." This is clearly wrong. The correct reading is
preserved by our MS., which is confirmed by the Oxford MS. (d. 35).
On this subject see Maimonides, Kiddush Ha-Chodesh iv. 2, Schiirer,
i. (3rd ed.), pp. 752 ff. ; F. K. Ginzel, Handbuch der Matheniatischen
und Technischen Chronologie, ii. p. 67 ; and 'L.V^ves.chner, Samaritanische
Traditionen, p. 10. In the past year (5675) the Tekuphah of Tebeth
fell on Wednesday, January 6, 1915, at 10.30 p.m., i.e. the fifth day
of the Hebrew week, the 21st of Tebeth, and the Tekuphah of Nisan fell
on Thursday, April 8, 1915, at 6 a.m., i.e. the 24th of Nisan, after the
termination of the Passover festival. The rule in our text does not
apply now in actual practice. See Jozeroth, ed. Arnheim, p. 73.
' The first editions read : " they intercalate the year on account of
the Tekuphoth." This reading agrees with " Megillah of Abiathar,"
p. 469.
* Of intercalated years.
' Our text has the following order of years, 3rd, 6th (the 3rd after
the preceding year of intercalation), the 8th {i.e. two years after the
preceding year), nth (again three years' interval), 14th (again three
years' interval), 17th (three years' interval), and the 19th year (two
58 RABBI ELIEZER
The intercalation takes place in the presence of
three ; ^ Rabbi Eliczer says that ten (men are re-
quired), as it is said, " God standeth in the congregation -
of God "3 (Ps. Ixxxii. 1), and if they become less ' than
ten, since they are diminished they place a scroll of the
Torah before them,^ and they are seated in a circle in the
court-room,<5 and the greatest (among them) sits first,' and
the least sits last ; and they direct their gaze downwards ^
to the earth and (then) they stand and spread out their
hands •* before their Father who is in heaven, and the chief
of the assembly i° proclaims ^^ the name (of God), and they
years' interval). On this question see Ginzel, op. cit. pn. 75f. ; and cf.
Jesod 'Olam iv. ii. p. 63b, and the works on the Calendar by Lewisohn,
p. 40, and Schwarz, p. 78. According to the Oxford MS. (d. 35) the
text should read thus: the 3rd, 5th, 8th, nth, 14th, i6th, and 19th,
agreeing with the cycle of Meton the Greek astronomer, with the
exception that the latter has the 13th year instead of the 14th
year.
^ Men who know the principle of intercalation.
- The " congregation " consists of ten, the Minyan ; this is derived
from the use of the word " congregation " in connection with the ten
spies who brought a false report to Moses in the wilderness (Num.
xiv. 27). The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads here : " ' In the congregation
of God.' 'Congregation' means only ten (men), as it is said: 'How
long shall I bear with this evil congregation,'" etc. (Num. xiv. 27).
See " Mcgillah of Abiathar," pp. 469 f.
^ Or " in the congregation of the mighty." For the occasions when
a Minyan is necessary, see Mishnah Megillah iv. 3, tractate Sopherim
X. S, and infra, pp. 127 f. The Talmud B. Synhedrin, 70b, also re-
quires ten men at the intercalation, and cf . Ex. Rab. xv. 20.
'' e.g. if one or more of the ten men go away, see T.B. Berakhoth,
47b. Luria thinks that the text is corrupt, reading " when they had
deUberated " instead of " if they become less." The MSS. do not
support this suggested emendation.
•' To read therein the section deahng with the Calendar (Ex. xii. i f.).
* Such as was used by the Synhedrion at Jerusalem; see T.B. Syn-
hedrin, 35b, 36b, and So'pherim xix. 9.
' See T.B. Baba Bathra, 120b, for order of procedure ; for a Biblical
parallel see Gen. xhii. 33. The text means literally: "And they sit,
the greatest according to his greatness, and the least according to his
littleness."
^ See Lev. ix. 24 for " falling on the face," and see Ezek. li. 28.
* See Lam. iii. 41 ; Targ. Onkelos on Gen. xiv. 22, and cf. T.B.
Jebamoth, 105b.
i» The " Rosh Yeshibah " points to Palestine or to the schools of
the Geonim in Babylon, or to the Academies in Egypt; see J.Q.R.
xiv. p. 450, note i.
^1 i.e. the benediction on reading the Torah; see Singer, p. 68. It
probably means that the Ineffable Name was pronounced. The
"Megillah of Abiathar," p. 469. recounts how the Inthablc Name
was mentioned with " sanctification, greater than that of the
Day of Atonement when the High Priest pronounced it seven
times."
PRINCIPLE OF INTERCALATION 59
hear a Bath Kol ^ (saying) the following words,^ " And the
Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron . . . saying,^ This month
shall be unto you " (Ex. xii. 1, 2).
If, owing to the iniquity of the generation, they do not
hear anything at all ; '* then, if one may say so,^ He is unable
to let His glory abide among them. Happy were they who
stood in that place ^ in that hour,' as it is said, " Happy is
the people who know the joyful sound : ® they walk, O Lord,
in the light of thy countenance " (Ps. Ixxxix. 15) ; in the
light of the countenance of the Holy One, blessed be He,
they walk.^
On the New Moon of Nisan |1 the Holy One, blessed be
He, was revealed to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
and it was the 15th ^° year of the great cycle of the moon,
the 16th year of the cycle of intercalation,^^ (and He said) :
" henceforward the counting devolves on you." ^^
^ The Heavenly Voice; see Mark i. ii, and cf. Rabbinic Philosophy
and Ethics, p. 195, note 4.
^ Lit. " according to this expression." The Oxford MS. (d. 35)
adds : "as it is said."
^ The MS. does not continue the quotation.
* R. Eliezer was permitted to hear the Bath Kol. See T.B. Baba
Mezi'a, 59b, and T.B. Sotah, 4^b. In later times this privilege was
withdrawn because of the sins of the people.
^ On this term see Bacher, Terminologie, i. pp. 72 f .
* i.e. the court room of the Synhedrion. The reference is to the
good days of old, long before our book was written.
' When the intercalation took place ; this was at night. Accord-
ing to the " Megillah of Abiathar," p. 471, the intercalation took place
by day; see T.B. Synhedrin, iib.
® i.e. the Teru'ah or trumpet blast. The various features of this
ceremony have a parallel in the ceremonies of the Ban mentioned
infra, p. 301. Are we dealing with a Geonic institution ?
^ Luria infers from our narrative that the Shophar was sounded at
the intercalation ceremony; see T.B. Synhedrin, loc. cii., and Tosephta
Synhedrin ii. 7 ff., p. 417, on this ceremony.
" Luria corrects this and reads " the 12th." On the date of the
Exodus see Seder 'Olam Rab. v. pp. iibf.
" Of 19 years.
12 Sec the " Megillah of Abiathar," p. 464. On the important
question as to the probable origin of P.R.E. in connection with the
intercalation, see J.Q.R. (New Series) i. pp. 64 f.
CHAPTER IXi
THE CREATION AND WONDERS OF THE FIFTH DAY [IOa. ii.]
On the fifth day - He caused the waters to bring forth
abundantly all kinds of winged fowls, male and female,
unelean and clean. By two signs ^ arc thej^ declared to be
clean, by the crop, and by the craw peeling off. Rabbi
Eliezer said : (Another sign was) also by the projecting
toe of the claw. Two kinds of birds have been chosen
for the offering of a burnt sacrifice,^ namely, the turtle-dove
and the young pigeon.
He ^ caused the waters to bring forth abundantly
all kinds of fish, male and female, unclean and clean.
By two signs arc they declared to be clean, by the fins and
by their scales ; « and if they do not have them {i.e. both
signs) they are unclean.
On the fifth day He caused the waters to bring forth
abundantly all kinds of locusts,' male and female, clean and
unclean. By two signs arc they declared to be clean : by
their long legs with which they jump,^ and by the wings
which cover the entire body, such are clean. Such (living
things) as were brought forth from the water, namely, fish
' In our MS. this is ch. viii.
* For the creation on the fifth day see Gen. i. 20-23 ; 4 Ezra vi.
47 ff. ; Jubilees ii. 11, 12 ; Slav. Enoch xxx. 7. Our" book reckons
three kinds of living things created on the fifth day: birds, fish, and
locusts ; in Jubilees, loc. cit., three kinds: great sea monsters, fish, and
birds are also enumerated.
3 On the signs see T.B. Chullin, 59a, 6ia and 62a; Tosephta
Chullin iii. 22, p. 505, and Pal. Targum on Lev. xi. 13.
* This agrees with Luria's reading; the printed texts read: "an
offering and a burnt-offering."
* The Venice edition adds : " On the fifth day." The ist ed omits
this and the following words up to " male."
" On fish .see L' v. xi. 9, 10, 12, and T.B. Chullin, 66b.
' See T.B. Chullin, 59a and 65 a, b.
* The first editions add : " upon the earth." Sec Lev. xi. 20-23.
60
WONDERS OF THE FIFTH DAY 61
and locusts,^ are (eaten) without (being subject to the laws
of) Shechitah ^ (with the ritual slaughtering), but the bird
cannot be eaten unless (it be killed) by (the method of)
Shechitah. Such creatures which have been created from
the earth ^ || have their blood covered with earth, and such
as have been created from the water must have their blood
poured out like water.*
^ Dr. Charles is mistaken in stating that in the " Pirke R. Eliezer
ix. it is said that locusts are not created from water " {Fragments of a
Zadokite Work, p. 31). Just the opposite theory is advocated by our work.
The Zadokite Fragment taught that the elements of fire and water
were to be found in the composition of the locusts, hence they are to
be killed by fire or by water; see Schechter, op. cit., p. 51, note 24. who
points out that according to Rabbinic law, the locust requires no killing
at all ; see Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilkhoth Shechitah, ch. i. i,
and Tur Joreh Di'ah, 13. The importance of this Halakhah will be
appreciated if we are able to fix the date and home of our book. The
question has been critically discussed by Dr. Biichler in the J.Q.R.
(New Series) iii. (1913) pp. 442 f. ; see J.Q.R. (New Series) iv. pp.
460 ff., where Jubilees v. 30 is cited as bearing on the question. Ci.
also Wreschner, op. cit. p. 52.
^ The first editions read : " are eaten, for they are not (killed) by
Shechitah." For the ritual slaughter of animals by the knife see T.B.
Chullin, 27a. This method probably obtained among the early
Christians, see Acts xv. 20 and 29, xxi. 25 ; for further references see
Preuschen, N.T. Diet. s.v. ttvlktos, c. 933.
* The MS. actually reads " water," but the text was here originally
" earth." The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads: " Such as were created from
the earth have their blood poured out like water, and such as swarmed
from the water have their blood covered by the dust." As the parch-
ment of our MS. has been damaged by the erasure, an attempt has also
been made to change the word " water " (in the next line) into " earth."
' Luria reads: " Such as have been created from the water may
have their blood consumed like water, and such as have been created
from the earth, their blood is prohibited to be consumed : the exception
is the fowl ; for although it has been created from the water its blood is
prohibited to be consumed, and, moreover, it requires that the blood
which falls upon the earth when it is killed must be covered by dust."
The traditional text found in our MS. as well as in the first editions
is probably correct in view of the unusual Halakhah (or Law) preserved
in the Fragments of a Zadokite Work (ed. Charles), xiv. 13: " Nor shall
fish be eaten unless they are split alive and their blood was shed."
Dr Schechter thinks that this rule was " directed against the Rabbinic
opinion permitting the eating of the blood of the fish. See Sifra, 39a,
and Kerithoth, 20b." See, further, T.B. Chullin, 27b, " where," says Dr.
Schechter, " we have a homily to the effect that cattle have to be
killed in a certain way because they were created out of the dry land
(earth) ; fish, again, require no killing, being created out of the water ;
whilst birds, which were created out of alluvial mud (a combination of
water and earth), occupy also, with regard to their ritual killing, a
middle place between cattle and fish. The notion was that the mode
of killing is in some way connected with the element out of which the
animal in question was created." See Wreschner, op. cit. p. 54. The
1st ed. reads : " its blood is poured out on the earth." The Venice
edition agrees with our MS.
62 RABBI ELIEZER
Rabbi Eliezer said : Not only concerning the water does
the Scripture say that " the waters should bring forth abund-
antly " (Gen. i, 20), but also concerning the birds ^ which
are compared with water, as it is said, " And the uproar of
many peoples, which roar like the roaring of the seas " (Isa.
xvii. 12), and just as the waters brought forth abundantly
on the fifth day, likewise in the future will the nations of
the world swarm in the fifth world,- and they will fight one
another to destroy ^ (one another), as it is said, " And they
were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city
against city ; ^ for God did vex them with all adversity "
(2 Chron. xv. 6). What is ^vritten (immediately) after-
wards ? The Salvation of Israel (is mentioned), as it is
said,^ " But be ye strong ; and your hands shall not be
slack " {ibid. 7).
All rivers flowing on the earth,^ as soon as they flow on
the earth, they are blessed and good and sweet. There is some
benefit to the world through them ; ' (when) they flow into
the sea they are bad,^ cursed, and bitter, and they are of
no benefit to the world. Why are they similar to Israel ?
For when the Israelites rely upon the protection of their
Creator and do His will, they are blessed and good and
sweet, and there is some benefit to the world through them,
' The Oxford MS. (cl. ^5) and the first editions read : " nations of
the world."
* Is the fifth world the fifth kingdom, i.e. the kingdom of the Messiah?
Or, is the " fifth world " another way of sa3'ing the " fifth era " or " day "
of the world ? This would be the period 5000 a.m. to 6000 c.e. {i.e.
1240-2240 C.E.). Our reading is also preserved in the ist ed. In
the Venice edition the word " fifth " is omitted.
* See T.B. 'Abodah Zarah, 4a, T.B. Synhcdrin, 97b, and Zohar,
Gen. 46b and 119a, for tfie wars of the Messianic Age, which were sup-
posed to begin about the end of the fiftieth century a.m. ; cf. t7ifra, pp.
198-203 ; and s<-e R-v. xvi. 14 lor the internecine strife of the nations.
' The first two editions have erred here in a strange manner : they both
quote as a Scripture text the words: "And I will set nation against
nation, kingdom against kingdom, for God did vex them with all ad-
vrsit}-." The last clause is part of the quotation from 2 Chron. xv. 6,
the first part of this verse being accurately given by our MS. Where
do we find the words : " And 1 will set nation against nation, king-
dom against kingdom " ? Might one suggest Matt. xxiv. 7, based on
Isa. xix. 2 and 2 Cliron. xv. 6. as a parallel ? See also 4 Ezra xiii. 31.
* See Isa. Ixii. 11 and Ps. xiv. 7.
^ The Venice edition omits " flowing on the earth " ; the ist ed.
agrees with our text.
^ Cf. Recognitions of Clement viii. 24 and Jolm of Damascus, op.
cit. ii. g.
* Luria suggests the reading : " they are cursed, evil."
WONDERS OF THE FIFTH DAY 63
and for their sake ^ the world stands. (When) the men of Israel
depart from their Creator and trust in the statutes of the
nations,- they are bad, accursed, and bitter, |1 and there is no
benefit in them for the world. Just as the waters of the
rivers (are) the food of the waters of the sea,^ so are (the
sinners destined to be) fuel for Gehinnom. All the rains that
descend into the sea are (as) seed for (all creatures) in them,^
and thereby the fish are fed.^
On the fifth day the waters in Egypt ^ were changed into
blood. On the fifth day our forefathers went forth from
Egypt.' On the same {i.e. fifth) day the waters of the Jordan
stood still before the ark of the Covenant of God.^ On the
same (i.e. fifth) day Hezekiah stopped the fountains which
were in Jerusalem, as it is said, " This same ^ Hezekiah
also stopped the upper spring of the waters of Gihon "
{ibid, xxxii. 30).i°
On the fifth day He brought forth from the water the
Leviathan,^^ the flying serpent, and its dwelling is in the
1 See Jar. x. 2, 3, and Assumption of Moses i. 12. A parallel to our
text is given bv 4 Ezra iv. 55, 59, vii. 11.
2Cf. Matt. V. 13, 14.
3 The river water is absorbed by the salt water and thereby the
composition of the sea water is modified ; see Gen. Rab. v. 3 on this
problem.
* i.e. the sea. Cf. supra, p. 30, the rain is the male element in
water ; see Shocher Tob, Ps. cxlvi. § 3, p. 268a.
^ The first editions read : " become fruitful."
^ See Seder 'Olam Rab. iii., and cf. Mishnah 'Edujoth ii. 10 for the
duration of the Plagues. Our book {infra, p. 330) states that the day of
departure was on the third day ; on this point see T.B. Sabbath, 87b.
Luria thinks that the text should be emended thus: " On the fifth day
the sea was divided when our fathers went forth from Egypt."
' The reading of our text is preserved in Jalkut, Jonah, § 550, as
follows : " It was taught in a Baraitha that R. Eliezer said, On the fifth
day the waters of Egypt were turned into blood, on that day our fathers
went forth from Egypt ; on that day the waters of the Jordan stood
still before the ark of the Lord, on that day Hezekiah stopped all the
fountains ; on the fifth day Jonah fled before God." See first sentence
in next chapter of our book.
* See Josh. iii. 15, 16; Tosaphoth in Menachoth, 30a, catchword:
" From here onwards," refers to the day when Jericho fell ; cf. Seder
'Olam Rab. xi. ; see Ratner's ed. p. 24a, note 24, for the parallels, and
see in our book, infra, pp. 423 f .
* The printed editions are incorrect here.
1" On Hezekiah see Aboth de R. Nathan [a] ii. pp. 6a, b ; and cf. T.B.
Berakhoth, 5b, T.B. Pesachim, 56a, and in our book, infra, pp. 424 ff.
11 The Leviathan is the " flying serpent." See Isa. xxvii. i, and
Gen. Rab. vii. 4 with Theodor's note, in loc. ; 4 Ezra vi. 49 ff. (ed.
Box, p. 92) ; Eth. Enoch Ixix. 7 f . ; and cf. Monatsschrift, Ixiii. p. 20.
Our book holds the view that the Leviathan was created on the fifth
64 RABBI ELIEZER
lowest waters ; and between its fins ^ rests the middle
bar of the earth.'- All the great sea monsters in the sea
are the food for the Leviathan. Every day ^ it opens its
mouth, and the great sea monster destined to be eaten that
day (tries) to escape and flee, but it enters the mouth of the
Leviathan,: and the Holy One, blessed be He, plays with it,
as it is saic), " This is the Leviathan, whom thou hast created
to play with him " ^ (Ps. civ. 26).
Rabbi Mana '' said : Such creatures which have been
created from the earth increase and multiply on the earth, and
such which have been brought forth from the water increase
and miiltiply in the water, except all kinds of winged birds,
for thair creation was || from the water, yet they increase and
multi|:)ly on the earth, as it is said, " And let the fowl multiply
in the earth " {Gen. i. 22). Such as were brought forth from
the water increase and multiply by the egg ; *• and such as
were created from the earth increase and multiply by foetus
(i.e. living offspring).^
day, and Behemoth on the sixth day ; see infra, p. 75 ; and see
also T.B. Baba Bathra, 74b, 75a; Pal. Targum on Gen. i. 21. On
Behemoth see Pesikta de R. Kahana vi. p. sSa; Lev. Rab. xxii. 10;
Num. Rab. xxi. 18, and Tanchuma, Nizabim, § iv.
1 The first editions read : " its two fins."
- See infra, p. 71.
' The first editions read here : " And the Holy One, blessed be He,
plays with it every day." This part of the sentence is out of place,
as it occurs again a few lines farther on in these editions. Our MS. is
quite correct here.
* The R.V. renders : " whom thou hast formed to take his pastime
therein." See Job xli. 5, and cf. Jalkut on Job, § 927.
* The first editions read : " Meir."
"^ The ist ed. reads here : " in the water" instead of " by the egg."
^ See Basil, op. cit. vii. 2 ; and John of Damascus, op. cit. ii. 9, for
the creation of and from the water ; cf . T.B. ChuUin, 27b, Bechoroth,
8a, Pal. Targum on Gen. i. 20, and Midrash AgaJah, p. 3. Luria
(note 43) suggests an emendation of the text as follows: " Such as were
created from the water increase and multiply by living offspring " [e.g.
whales) ; whereas such as were brought forth from the water are hatched
from the egg" {e.g. the duck). The ist ed. reads: "multiply on the
earth." Does the ist ed. here prescr\-e the true reading ?
CHAPTER XI
THE HISTORY OF JONAH [11a. i.]
On the fifth day Jonah - fled before his God. Why did he
flee ? Because on the first occasion when (God) sent him
to restore the border of Israel, his words were fulfilled, as
it is said, " And he restored the border of Israel ^ from the
entering in of Hamath " (2 Kings xiv. 25).^ On the second
occasion (God) sent him to Jerusalem to (prophesy that He
would) destroy it. But^ the Holy One, blessed be He, did
according to the abundance of His tender mercy and re-
pented of the evil (decree), and He did not destroy it ; ^
thereupon ^ they called him a lying prophet.^ On the third
occasion ^ (God) sent him against Nineveh ^^ to destroy it.
Jonah argued with himself, saying, I know that the nations
^ In our MS. this is marked as ch. ix. Jalkut Makhiri, Jonah, ed.
Greenup, pp. 6il. , contains selections from P.R.E. here.
^ The story of Jonah belongs to the series of events which happened
on a Thursday ; moreover, the Leviathan mentioned m connection with
the story was created on the fifth day. See Jalkut, Jonah, § 550, and
supra, pp. 03 f.
^ In the MS. the quotation ends here. The first two editions con-
tinue as in our translation.
* The Oxford MS. (d. 35) continues this verse: " imto the sea of
Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which
he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of Amittai the
prophet, who was of Gathhepher." In spite of the sins of Israel,
this prophecy of Jonah was fulfilled. Jonah is only once referred
to in the apocryphal literature, 3 Mace, vi, 8 ; see LXX text of Tobit
xiv. 4.
^ The first editions add : " because they repented."
® It is assumed by our Midrash that this prophecy is referred to by
Jonah (iv. 2), " Was not this my saying when I was yet in my country
. . . for I knew that thou art a gracious God . . . and repentest thee
of the evil." See T.B. S5mhedrin, 89b.
' The first editions add " Israel."
* See 2 Kings ix. 4, 11, 12. The prophet mentioned in these verses
is Jonah, according to Rashi and Kimchi, in he.
» See T.B. Jebamoth, 98a.
1" The first editions read : " to Nineveh."
66 RABBI ELIEZER
are nigh to repentance,^ now they will repent and the Holy
One, blessed be He, will direct His anger against Israel.
And is it not enough for me that Israel should call me
a lying prophet ; but shall also the nations of the world
(do likewise) ? Therefore, behold, I will escape from His
presence to a place where His glory is not declared. (If) I
ascend above the heavens, it is said,^ " Above the heavens
is his glory " (Ps. cxiii. 4). (If) above the earth,^ (it is
said), " The whole earth is full of his glory " (Isa. vi. 3) ;
behold, I ^^^ll escape to the sea,^ to a place || where His
glory is not proclaimed. Jonah went down to Joppa,
but he did not find there a ship in which he could em-
bark, for the ship in which Jonah might have embarked
was two days' journey away from Joppa,'' in order to
test** Jonah. What did the Holy One, blessed be He,
do ? He sent against it a mighty tempest on the sea and
brought it back to Joppa. Then Jonah saw and rejoiced
in his heart, saying, Now I know that my ways will prosper
before me.
He said to the (sailors). We ' will embark with you.
They replied to him, Behold, we are going to the islands
* See infra, pp. 342 f., and Mekhilta Bo, i, p. 2; T.J. Synhedrin
». 7, 30b; Tanchuma Vajikra, §vii. This is an excellent dictum. The
non-Jews ' are easily turned to repentance. The first editions read :
" this nation is nigh to repentance."
- The Venice edition reads : " it is said that His glory is there, as it
is said."
3 The Venice edition reads: " Above the earth ? It is said that
His glory is there, as it is said." For similar questions see Chrj-^sosto-
mus, Homily on Repentance, 3.
* In the first editions the word (d'"?) " to the sea " is replaced by
('^) " for myself."
* This addition to the Biblical narrative is preserved in the Midrash
Jonah (in Jellinek's Beth Ha-Midrash, i. pp. 96-105), and see the
Zohar, Gen. 121a, b, for further embellishment. This Midrash, as well
as our chapter, undoubtedly formed one of the Homilies for the service
of the Day of Atonement, the Book of Jonah forming the lesson from
the Prophets for the afternoon service of that day. This point is of
importance in our estimate of the probable use which our book was
intended to render. Was it a book for the Synagogue ? Was it
intended to supply Midrashic material for the preacher in his pubUc
discourses ? As far as this loth Chapter is concerned, the answer is in
the affirmative. We shall find further evidence to support this view
in the course of our study of this book.
* Perhaps the text should read : " In order to test Jonah what did
the Holy One, blessed be He, do ? "
' The MS. reads: " we will embark." The ist and 2nd eds. read :
" I will embark,"
THE HISTORY OF JONAH 67
of the sea, to Tarshish.^ He said to them, We - will go ^vith
you. Now (this) is the custom on all ships that when a
man disembarks therefrom he pays his fare ; but Jonah,
in the joy of his heart, paid his fare in advance,^ as it is said,
" But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence
of the Lord ; and he went down to Joppa and found a ship
going to Tarshish ; so he paid the fare thereof, and went
down into it,^ to go with them " (Jonah i. 3).
They had travelled one day's journey, and a mighty
tempest ^ on the sea arose against them on their right
hand and on their left hand ; but the movement ^ of all
the ships passing ' to and fro was peaceful in a quiet sea,
but the ship into which Jonah had embarked was in great
peril of shipwreck, as it is said, " But the Lord sent out a
great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest
in the sea, so ^ that the ship was like || to be broken " {ibid. 4).
Rabbi Chanina ^ said : (Men) of the seventy languages i"
^ Ibn Ezra on Jonah i. 3 tells us on the authority of Sa" adiah that
Tarshish is Tarsus ; he also gives another opinion that Tunis in Africa is
the port referred to. For other views, see Gesenius (Oxford edition),
pp. 1076 f.
2 The MS. reads also liere : ''we will embark." The ist and 2nd
eds. read : " I will embark."
' See T.B. Nedarim, 38a, according to which Jonah pays the fares
of all on board. See J.E. vii. 226 f. for the story of Jonah in Rab-
binical literature.
* Our MS. ends the quotation here, but adds "etc." The first
editions add " etc." after " Joppa."
^According to the Midrash Konen, p. 23. at the creation of the
world God stipulated with the sea that it should not suffer Jonah to
sail to Tarshish.
« Lit. " way."
' The versions in Tanchuma Vajikra, § viii., and Jalkut Jonah, loc.
cit., differ somewhat. Our text is, however, the source whence the
Midrashim have drawn their material. Kimchi on Jonah i. 7 remarks :
" I have found in the Pirke R. Eliezer, A great tempest arose against
them on the sea, and on their right hand and on their left hand all
the ships were passing to and fro in peace in the tranquiUity of the
sea ; and the ship into which Jonah had embarked was in great distress
so that one thought that it would be broken in pieces." See Gen.
Rab. xxiv. 4 with reference to the wind sent to hinder Jonah; of.
Lev. Rab. xv. i on same point.
* The first editions omit the preceding part of the quotation.
^ The first editions read " Chananjah."
^° The seventy nations of humanity have each one a representative
on board. The ship is a type of the world, which only can find its
salvation through the wilhng martyrdom of the Hebrew, who, although
he be inoffensive in his conduct with his fellow-men of all nationalities,
is nevertheless quite willing to allow himself to be doomed to destruc-
tion in order to relieve his fellow-men of their threatened ruin. This
68 RABBI ELIEZER
were there on the ship, and each one had his god in his hand,
(each one) saying : ^ And the God who shall reply and
deliver us from this trouble, He shall be God.^ They
arose and every one called upon the name of his god, but it
availed nought.^ Now Jonah, because of the anguish of
his soul, was slumbering and asleep. The captain of the
ship came to him, saying. Behold, we are standing bct\Adxt
death and life, and thou art slumbering and sleeping ; of
what people art thou ? He answered them, " I am an
Hebrew " {ibid. 9). (The captain) said to him, Have we
not heard that the God of the Hebrews is great ? Arise,
call upon thy God, perhaps He will work (salvation) for us
according to all His miracles which He did for you at the
Reed Sea. He answered them,^ It is on my account that
this misfortune has befallen you ; take me up and cast me
into the sea and the sea will become calm unto you, as it
is said, " And he said unto them. Take me up, and cast me
forth into the sea ; so shall the sea be calm unto you " (ibid.
Rabbi Simeon said : The men would not consent to throw
Jonah into the sea ; but they cast lots among themselves
and the lot fell upon Jonah. ^ What did they do ? They
took all their utensils which were in the ship, and cast them
into the sea ^ in order to lighten it for their (safety), but it
availed nought. || They wanted to return ' to the dry land,
but they were unable, as it is said, " Nevertheless the men
universalistic aspect of the mission of the Hebrew is famihar to the
student of the Bible. Abraham, Moses, and the suffering servant of
God, who is none other than Israel, represent this teaching, which our
book enforces. The basis for the Midrashic idea of the seventy
nations is afforded b}' comparing the text of Jonah i. 5, which says,
" And every man cried unto his God," with the text in Mic. iv. 5,
" For all the people will walk every man in the name of his God."
1 The first two editions read here : " as it is said, ' Then the
mariners were afraid, and cried everj' man unto his God ' " (Jonah i. 5).
The Venice edition adds : " They bowed down saying, Let each man
call on the name of his God."
2 Cf. Elijah's appeal on Mount Carmel, i Kings xviii. 24.
3 See Targum, lonah i. 5.
* The first editions add : " I will not hide from you that."
* The first editions add here : " as it is said, ' So they cast lots, and
the lot fell upon Jonah ' " (Jonah i. 7).
' See Targum, Jonah, loc. cit., and Midrash Jonah (ed. Jelhnek), p. 97.
"> The reading in our MS. is in agreement with the reading of the
Tanchuma (loc. cit.) and Jalkut, Jonah, loc. cit. The printed texts
read, " they wanted to row hard," instead of our reading.
THE HISTORY OF JONAH 69
rowed hard to get them back to the land ; but they could
not" {ibid. 13). i What did they do? They took Jonah
and they stood on the side of the ship, saying, God of the
world ! O Lord ! Do not lay upon us innocent blood, for
we do not know what sort of person is this man ; and he
says deliberately, 2 On my account has this misfortune
befallen you.^
They took him (and cast him into the sea) up to his knee-
joints, and the sea-storm abated. They took him up again
to themselves and the sea became agitated again against
them.* They cast him in (again) up to his neck, and the
sea-storm abated. Once more they lifted him up in their
midst and the sea was again agitated against them, until
they cast him in entirely and forthwith the sea-storm
abated,^ as it is said, " So they took up Jonah, and cast
him forth into the sea : and the sea ceased from her raging "
(ibid. 15).
" And the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow
up Jonah" (ibid. 17).^ Rabbi Tarphon said: That fish
was specially appointed from the six days of Creation "^ to
swallow up Jonah, as it is said, " And the Lord had
prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah " (ibid.). He
entered its mouth just as a man enters the great synagogue,
and he stood (therein). The two eyes of the fish were like
windows ^ of glass giving light to Jonah.
Rabbi Meir said: || One pearl was suspended inside the
1 This quotation is missing in the first two editions.
- Lit. " with his mouth." The prayer of the sailors here should
be compared with the text in Jonah i. 14. The first editions read : " he
said to them."
' The first editions add : " take me and cast me into the sea. Forth-
with."
' The first editions add : " they cast him (into the sea) up to his navel/
and the sea-storm abated. Again they took him up among them-
selves, and the sea again was agitated against them."
* The quotation is not given by the first editions ; the last clause
is wanting in the MS., being replaced bv " etc."
* This quotation occurs here only in the MS. Its presence suggests
the probability of our context being part of a Midrash.
' See Gen. Rab. v. 5 and T.B. Bechoroth, 8a.
^ Our MS. reads " ampumeth." According to Jastrow, T.D. 78a,
this stands for dphsejanioth, " glass windows." This represents 6^pLav6s
(obsidian), a stone used as glass, see infra, p. 330. See 'Arukh, ed.
Kohut, i. 24b. Does the "Great Synagogue" refer to the famous
Synagogue of Alexandria ?
1 See T.B. Sotah, 45b.
70 RABBI ELIEZER
belly of the fish and it gave illumination to Jonah, like this
sun which shines with its might at noon ; and it showed
to Jonah all that was in the sea and in the depths,^ as it is
said, " Light is sown for the righteous " (Ps. xcvii. 11).
The fish said to Jonah, Dost thou not know that my day
had arrived to be devoured in the midst of Leviathan's
mouth ? Jonah replied, Take me beside it, and I will
deliver thee and myself from its mouth. It brought him
next to the Leviathan. (Jonah) said to the Leviathan,
On thy account have I descended to see thy abode in the
sea, for, moreover, in the future will I descend and put a
rope in thy tongue,^ and I will bring thee up and prepare ^
thee for the great feast of the righteous. ' (Jonah) showed
it the seal of our father ^ Abraham (saying),*^ Look at the
Covenant (seal), and Leviathan saw it and fled before Jonah
a distance of two days' journey. (Jonah) said to it {i.e. the
fish). Behold, I have saved thee from the mouth of Leviathan,
show me what is in the sea and in the depths. It showed
him the great river of the waters of the Ocean,' as it is
said, " The deep was round about me " (Jonah ii. 5), and it
showed him the paths of the Reed Sea^ through which
Israel passed, as it is said, " The reeds were wTapped about
my head " (ibid.) ; and it showed him the place whence
the waves of the sea and its billows flow,^ as it is said, " All ||
thy waves and thy billows passed over me " {ibid. 3) ; and
1 The first editions read here : " and concerning him [i.e. Jonah) the
Scripture says." The Zohar, Exodus, 48a, offers a parallel to this
sentence.
» See Job xl. 25 (in Hcb. = R.V. xh. i).
' The first editions read : " to sacrifice."
* The feast of the righteous in the Messianic age is referred to by
Jesus in Matt. xxvi. 29 ; sec also T.B. Baba Bathra, 74a, T.B. Chagigah,
14b, and Aboth iv. 16, and cf. T.B. Sabbath, 153a. The " secret
chambers of Leviathan " are referred to in Cant. Rab. i. 4 ; Eth.
Enoch Ix. 7-9 describes the Leviathan and the Behemoth ; see also 4 Ezra
vi. 49-52, and Apoc. Baruch xxix. 4. For further references see Charles'
note on p. 115 of his ed. of Eth. Enoch, and J.E. viii. 37 f. ; see also
Volz, Judische Eschatologie, pp. 351 and 365, and Jellinek, Beth
Ha-Mtdrash. vi. pp. 150 f., on " Leviathan Banquet."
* The first editions omit " our father."
* The Venice edition reads : " he said."
' The river of the waters of the ocean means the water which was
supposed to surround the earth ; see 3 Baruch ii. i, Apoc. Pauli xxi., xxxi.,
Eth. Enoch xvii. 5f., Test. Abraham (A.N.C.L. extra vol.), viii. yi. wii.
* See injra, p. 330, ami cf. J.Q.R. v. pp. 151 f.
"This is the reading in Tanchuma Vajikra, § viii., and Jalkut.
Jonah, § 530.
THE HISTORY OF JONAH 71
it showed him the pillars of the earth in its foundations, as
it is said, " The earth with her bars for the world were by
me " {ibid. 6) ; ^ and it showed him the lowest Sheol,^ as it is
said, " Yet hast thou brought up my life from destruction,^
O Lord, my God" (ibid.); and it showed him Gehinnom,^
as it is said, " Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, ^ and thou
didst hear my voice " {ibid. 2) ; and it showed him (what
was) beneath the Temple of God, as it is said," (I went down)
to the bottom of the mountains " ^ {ibid. 6). Hence we may
learn that Jerusalem stands upon seven (hills'), and he
saw there the Eben Shethiyah^ (Foundation Stone) fixed
in the depths.^ He saw there the sons of Korah ^^ standing
and praying over it. They^^ said to Jonah, Behold thou
dost stand beneath the Temple of God, pray and thou wilt
be answered. Forthwith Jonah said to the fish, Stand in
the place where thou art standing, because I msh to pray.
The fish stood (still), and Jonah began to pray before the
Holy One, blessed be He, and he said : Sovereign of all the
1 Cf. Ps. civ. 5 and T.B. Chagigah, 12b.
- The Venice edition reads " Gehinnom." See T.B. 'Erubin, 19a.
According to the Midrash Konen, p. 30, " there is one gate to Gehinnom
in the sea of Tarshish."
^ The last words of the quotation do not occur in the MS., but
the first editions give them.
* The first editions read : " the lowest Sheol." The lowest region
in Gehenna; see infra, pp. 340 f., 343, 432 f. On the theories about
Gehenna see Jellinek, Beth Ha-Midrash, i. pp. 147-149 ; Jerahmeel
ix. II, xiii. 5, xiv. i ff. ; Eth. Enoch Ixiii. 10, with Charles' note, in loc.
^ The first editions give the last words of this quotation, which are
missing in the MS.
^ The roots of the seven mountains in Jerusalem whereon the
Temple rested. The mountains are designated in the O.T. as follows:
Mount Zion, Mount Moriah, The Holy Mount, The Mount of my Holy
Beauty, The Mount of the House of the Lord, The Mount of the Lord
of Hosts, and The Lofty Mount of the Mountains.
' Tlie word for " hills " is missing in the MS. ; some other word
was inserted and then erased. It occurs in the Oxford MS. (d. 35).
In the letter of Aristeas (83 f.) Jerusalem is described as being situated
" on the top of a mountain of considerable altitude. On the summit the
Temple had been built in all its splendour."
* According to T.J. Joma v. 4, 42c, it was called Foundation
Stone because the whole world was founded thereon ; see also T.B.
Joma, 54b ; T.B. Synhedrin, 26b ; cf . Eth. Enoch, xviii. 2 ; and infra,
p. 266.
* The first editions read here : " beneath the Temple of God."
^o Luria notes that according to Midrash Konen (p. 31) the "com-
pany of Korah " are in the third department of Gehenna. Should the
reading be " the company of Korah " instead of " the sons of Korah " ?
Cf. J.Q.R. v. p. 152.
" The Venice edition and Midrash Jonah, p. 98, read : " The fish said."
72 RABBI ELIEZER
Universe ! ^ Thou art called " the One who kills " and " the
One who makes alive," behold, my soul has reached unto
death, now restore me to life. He was not answered until
this word came forth from his mouth, "What I have vowed
I will perform " {ibid. 9), namely, I vowed to draw up
Leviathan and to prepare '■^ it before Thee, I will perform
(this) on the day of the Salvation^ of Israel, as it is said,
" But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanks-
giving" (ibid.).^ Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be He,
hinted (to the fish) and it vomited out^ Jonah ]] upon
the dry land, as it is said, " And the Lord spake unto the
fish, and it vomited out Jonah ^ upon the dry land " {ibid.
10).
The sailors saw all the signs, the miracles, and the great
wonders which the Holy One, blessed be He, did unto
Jonah, and they stood and they cast away ' every one his
God, as it is said, " They that regard lying vanities forsake
their own shame "^ {ibid. 8). They returned to Joppa and
went up to Jerusalem and circumcised the flesh of their
foreskins, as it is said, "And the men^ feared the Lord
exceedingly ; and they offered a sacrifice unto the Lord "
{ibid. i. 16). Did they offer sacrifice ? ^^ But this (sacrifice)
refers to the blood of the covenant of circumcision, which is
like the blood of a sacrifice. ^^ And they made vows every
one to bring his children and all belonging to him to the
God ^2 of Jonah ; and they made vows and performed them,
1 The first editions add : " Thou art called ' the One who brings
up ' and ' the One who brings down." I have gone down, now
bring me up."
- The first editions read : " to sacrifice." See Midrash Jonah, p. 99.
' This is the day of the Messianic judgment. For the idea of
salvation in the Messianic age see Singer, pp. 49 (second paragraph),
loi (last paragraph), and 129. See also Volz, op. cit. pp. 226 f.
^ This quotiition is missing in the first editions.
* The first editions read : " it cast forth."
* The first editions continue the verse as in the translation ; the
MS. omits " upon the dry land."
^ The first editions add : " into the sea."
* See Kimchi, in loc, for the meaning of Chesed. Kimchi quotes
in his commentary on Jonah ii. 9 our passage with a variant reading.
* The text of the Bible reads here " men," as in our MS., but the
first editions read " the sailors." See Zohar, lix. 231a.
'" The first editions add : " Is it not (a fact) that they do not accept
sacrifices from the nations ? " See T.B. Menachoth, 73b, and cf. Paul's
attitude towards the table of the idolaters of his daj' (see i Cor. x. 21).
" Cf. Ex. Rab. xvii. 3 anJ 5.
•* The first editions read : " They vowed and performed (it) that
THE HISTORY OF JONAH 73
and concerning them it says, " Upon the proselytes, the
proselytes of righteousness." ^
each one should bring his wife and all his household to the fear of the
God of Jonah." The " Phoboumenoi " and " Sebomenoi " correspond
to these proselytes who fear God. On the subject see Schiirer, ii.
ii. 311-319 (E.T.).
1 This refers to the Shemoneh 'Esreh, the xiiiih benediction (Singer,
p. 48, last paragraph). See also T.B. Megillah, 17b, and Midrasii
Jonah, loc. cit.
This chapter should be compared with the Midrash Jonah (ed.
Jellinek, and td. Eisenstein, Ozar Midrashim, pp. 21 7b If.). Our book
was the source used by the author of the Midrash. The variant
readings which a comparison of the two texts affords may be illustrated
by one example : instead of " the day of the salvation of Israel," the
Midrash reads, " the day of my salvation." Again, the prayer of Jonah
in the Midrash is considerably longer than that of P. R. E.
The story of Jonah is interpreted in a fine Midrashic spirit by Zeno
in his 17th tractate. Ephraim (29th chap, on the prophet Jonah)
refers to Jonah's dread of being called a " lying prophet," and mentions
also the dread inspired by Jonah among the terrible monsters of the
deep. A very interesting point is suggested by a passage in Origen,
contra Celsum, vii. 57, according to which Jonah was considered to be
the Messiah in place of Jesus. Our book ascribes certain Messianic
functions to Jonah in connection with the Leviathan and the Day of
Israel's salvation. Perhaps he is a type of the " Messiah ben Jos?ph "
who is to overcome the Anti-Christ or Satan {i.e. the Leviathan).
The New Testament connects the story of Jonah with its Messiah ;
see Matt. xii. 39-41 and ihid. xvi. 4 ; cf. Luke xi. 29-32. The
" Fish " as a Christian Messianic emblem may be associated with the
Jonah legends.
CHAPTER XII
THE WORK OF CREATION ON THE SIXTH DAY [I2b. i.]
On the sixth day (God) brought forth from the earth all
kinds of animals, male and female, clean and unclean. By
two signs - are they declared to be clean : (the signs are)
chewing the cud, and dividing the hoof.^ Three ^ kinds of
animals were chosen for the sacrifice of a burnt-offering,
namely, the ox, the lamb, and the goat. Every kind of
clean animal which is neither Nevelah ^ {i.e. which has not
been slaughtered according to the rules of Shechitah ^) nor
Terephah' {i.e. torn) in the field ^ is permitted to be eaten,
except with regard to three parts, namel)'', the fat, || the
blood, and the sinew of the thigh,^ as it is said, " As the
green herb have I given you all " (Gen. ix. 3).^"
^ This is the tenth chapter in our MS.
2 See T.B. Chullin, 59a, and supra, p. 60. The attention drawn
to the ritual regulations of Shechitah and to the clean animals is what
one would expect in a popular treatise for perusal in the home or
Synagogue. This seems to be the tendency of much of the Pseud-
epigrapha, such as the Book of Jubilees or the Testaments of the Twelve
Patriarchs. The Jewish law as to clean animals is explained alle-
gorically bj' the Epistle of Barnabas x.
' See Lev. xi. 4.
* See Tanchuma, Shemini, § vii. ; there are only these three kinds
of clean animals. Cf. T.B. Chullin. 63b.
^ This word is usually rendered " carrion."
* On Shechitah see J.E. xi. 253 ff.
' Terephah is interpreted to mean not merely the flesh of an animal
torn in the field, but all animal flesh which has not been killed according
to the rules of Shechitah. and which has become unfit for consumption
according to Jewish law and custom. See Acts x. 14, for " unclean"
food.
* Thr Oxford MS. (d. 35) and some editions read here "its flesh."
instead of " in the field." The Prague edition reads: "it is kasher"
(ritually in order and permitted). Cf. Ex. xxii. 31, on which our text is
based, and soe Baraitha of the 32 Middoth. rd. Reiffmann. p. 37.
* See Gen. xxxii. 32.
1" According to T.B. Synhedrin, 59b (and cf. Siphra, Shemini. ]>. ^Sa).
animal flesh was permitted to the " sons of Noah." Had Adam
not sinned, animal flesh would have been prohibited, says the Midrash
Agadah, Genesis, p. 5.
74
CREATION ON SIXTH DAY 75
On the sixth day (God) brought forth from the earth
seven clean beasts ; ^ their slaughter and the method of
consumption are similar ^ to the (rules observed) with a
bird ; and all the rest of the beasts in the field are entirely ^
unclean.
He ^ brought forth from the earth all kinds of abomina-
tions ^ and creeping things, all of them are unclean.^
Such (creatures) which have been created from the earth,
their life (or soul) and body are from the earth, and when
they return they touch their dust ' at the place whence
they were created, as it is said, " Thou takest away their
breath, they die, and return to their dust " ^ (Ps. civ. 29) ;
and it is written, " And the spirit of the beast goes down-
ward to the earth " (Eccles. iii. 21).^
On the sixth day He brought forth from the earth a
beast (Behemoth) which lies stretched out on a thousand
hills 1° and every day has its pasture on a thousand hills,
and overnight (the verdure) grows of its own account as
though he had not touched it, as it is said, " Surely the
mountains bring him forth food " (Job xl. 20). The waters
1 The first editions add here : " namely, the hart, the gazelle, the
roebuck, the wild-goat, the pygarg, the antelope, and the chamois." ^
^ The text is difficult to interpret ; as regards fowl, only " one
sign " is essential for tiie ritual slaughter, whereas " two signs " are
requisite in the case of the animals mentioned ; see T.B. Chullin, 71a,
89b, and 92b.
3 Lit. " all of them."
■* The first editions read : " On the sixth day He brought forth."
^Perhaps the original text was " Sherazim " (reptiles), instead of
" Shekazim " (abominations); see, however, Deut. xiv. 3. The printed
texts omit " kinds of."
* And therefore not to be eaten.
■^ The first editions read : " when they die they return to the place
whence they were created."
^ The first editions do not give the last clause of the quotation.
' The distinction implied here between man and beast is in the origin
of the spirit, that of man is heavenly whilst that of the beast is of the
earth.
1" Cf. Ps. 1. 10 and Job xl. 15, " Behold now Behemoth, which I
made " ; see T.B. Baba Bathra, 74b, and Targum on Fs. 1. 10. Cf. supra,
p. 63, note II, and see 4 Ezra (ed. Box), pp. 90 ff. The Leviathan
was created, according to our author, on the fifth day, whereas the
Behemoth was created on the sixth day ; see Jerahmeel v. and vi. ;
Jalkut, Gen. § 12, and ].E. viii. 37 ff. ; and cf. Num. Rab. xxi. 18,
and Lev. Rab. xxii. 10. On "Behemoth" see Midrash Konen, pp.
20 and 37.
1 See Deut. xiv. 5. The Venice ed. (1544) adds: " and all of them
(as regards) their slaughter," etc.
76 RABBI ELIEZER
of the Jordan give him water to drink, for the waters of
the Jordan surround all the earth,^ half thereof (flow)
above the earth and the other half below the earth,- as
it is said, " lie is confident, though Jordan swell even to
his mouth " {ibid. 23). This (creature) is destined for the
day of sacrifice, for the great banquet of the righteous,^
as it is said, " He only that made him can make his sword '
to approach imto him " {ibid. 19).
The ^ Holy One, blessed be He, spake to the Torah : "
" Let us make || man in our image, after our likeness "
(Gen, i. 26). (The Torah) spake before Him : Sovereign
of all the worlds ! The man ^ whom Thou wouldst ^ create
will be limited in days and full of anger ; and he will come
into the power of sin. Unless Thou wilt be long-suffering
with him, it would be well for him not to have come into
the world,^ The Holy One, blessed be He, rejoined : And
is it for nought that I am called "slow to anger " i" and
"abounding in love"? He began to collect the dust of
the first man from the four corners of the world ; ^^ red,
1 The first editions read: "the land of Israel." Cf. Eth. Enoch
xxvi. 2 f .
2 See T.B. Baba Bathra, loc. cit. , and cf . Gen. Rab. v. 8, and xxiii. ~.
* See supra, p. 70. According to Midrash Agadah, Gen. p. 3, the
female companion of the I^eviathan is reserved for the Messianic
Banquet; ct. Pal. Targ. on Gen. i. z. and cf. T.B. Baba Bathra, 75a.
Gen. Rab. vii. .1, Lekach Tob, Gen. p. 14.
* To slay him.
° The first editions read : " Forthwith the Holy One," etc.
* The Torah is the instrument in God's hand at theCreation; see supra,
p. 12, and Gen. Rab. i. i. Cf. Midrash Konen, p. z^, based on Prov. iii.
19. The idea was used by the author of the Epistle of Barnabas v. 5,
vi. 12, where God is represented as consulting the Christ. According
to other traditions of the Church and Synagogue, God consulted
the ministering angels at the creation of man; cf. Midrash Agadali,
Gen. p. 4, and Irenaeus, adv. H(Br. i. 24.
'The first edition reads: "This man." The Venice edition has:
" The world is Thine, this man," etc.
® The Venice edition adds here: "is Thine." The idea exnress^^d
by the next few words, " that man would have but few days," is to
be compared with p. 125, infrct. The sentence is based on Job
xiv. I.
• See Matt, xviii. 6, and Eth. Enoch xxxviii. z.
'"See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 212, and Test Abraham.
A.N.C.L. (extra vol.) p. 102, and cf. Wisdimi xi. 23 f.
" The first editions read : " earth." The Pal. Targum on Gen. ii. 7
says : " And the Lord God created man with two inclinations ; and
He took dust from the place of the House of the Sanctuary and from
the four quarters of the world, and mixed (the dust) with all the
waters of the world, and created him red, dark red (or brown), and
CREATION ON SIXTH DAY 11
black, white,^ and " pale green." ^ (which) refers to the
body.
Why (did He gather man's dust) from the four corners
of the world ? ^ Thus spake the Holy One, blessed be He :
If a man should come from the east to the west, or from
the west to the east,* and his time comes to depart from
the world, then the earth ^ shall not say. The dust of thy
body is not mine,*^ return to the place whence thou wast
created.' But (this circumstance) teaches thee that in
every place where a man goes or comes,^ and his end ap-
proaches when he must depart from the world, thence is the
dust of his body, and there it returns to the dust, as it is
said, "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"
{ibid. iii. 19).
The day had twelve hours ; ^ in the first hour He collected
white." It is evident that the Targum has used our book in this
context. See also Tanchuma, Pekude, § iii. On the creation of Adam
see T.B. Synhedrin, 38b, Zohar, Gen. 35b, ihid. 205b, and in^ra.
Chapter XII. Cf. Griiiibaum, Beiirdge, pp. 54 ff.
1 The first editions add the following : " and yellow. ' Red,'
this is the blood ; ' black ' refers to the entrails ; ^ ' white ' refers to
the bones and sinews." Cf. T.B. Niddah, 31a.
2 Jalkut, Gen. S 13, reads as our MS., "pale green." The first
editions read "yellow." Might the four colours indicate the different
colours of the skin of men ?
^ See Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Alalaii) i. xxxiv., and Slavonic
Enoch XXX. 13; and cf. Tertullian, Against the Valentinians, xxiv,,
and the Book of the Bee (ed. Budge), p. 16.
* The first editions add : " or to any place where he may go."
* The first editions add : " which is in that place."
* The first editions add : " and I will not receive thee."
' According to Gen. Rab. xx. 10, and Tanna de be Elijahu Rab.
xxxi. fed. Friedmann), p. 164, the " return " of man to the dust is held
to signify the resurrection.
* The first editions read : " and his end comes to depart from the
world, whence the dust of his body comes thence it returns, and that
dust will raise its voice, as it is said," etc.
* Luria thinks that the order of the hours of the day whereon
Adam was created is a gloss added by a copyist who knew the legends
of the Talmud ; cf . T.B. Synhedrin, loc. cit. See Aboth de R. Nathan
((.') i. p. 3a; Pesikta Rabbathi, § xlvi. p. 187b, note 7 ; Lev. Rab. xxix.
I ; Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii. 3 ; Tanchuma, Shemini. § viii. R. Bechai on
Gen. ii. 7 gives parallel readings to our text. The Church literature
also has many legends of the Haggadic type concerning the creation
of Adam; thus the Apostolic Constitutions, vii. 34, says: "Thou
hast exhibited man (Adam) as the ornament of the world,
and formed him a body out of the four elements." Irenaeu?
{adv. HcBY. v. 23) says : " Adam sinned on the sixth day of the
1 See T.B. Kerithoth, 22a ; perhaps the reference is to the liver
and spleen.
78 RABBI ELIEZER
the dust for (the body of) Adam, in the second (hour) He
formed it into a mass/ in the third (hour) He gave it its
shape, in the fourth (hour) He endowed || it with breath,'^
in the fifth (hour) he stood on his feet,^ in the sixth (hour)
he called the (animals by their) names, in the seventh
(hour) Eve was joined to him (in wedlock), in the eighth
(hour) they were commanded concerning the fruits of the
tree, in the ninth (hour) they went up to (their) couch as
two and descended as four, • in the tenth (hour) ^ they
transgressed His commandment, in the eleventh (hour)
they were judged, in the twelfth (hour) they were driven
forth, as it is said, " So he drove out the man " {ibid. 24).
And He formed *' the lumps of the dust of the first man
into a mass ' in a clean place,^ (it was) on the navel ^ of
the earth. He shaped him and prepared ^° him, but breath
and soul were not in him. What did the Holy One, blessed
be He, do ? He breathed with the breath of the soul of His
mouth, and a soul was cast^^ into him, as it is said, "And
he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life " {ibid. ii. 7).
Creation." See also Aphraates, Homilies, ed. Wright, p. i68 ; other
references are given by Ginzberg, Die Haggada bei den Kirchenvdtern,
p. 50 ; and cf. Kohut in Z.D.M.G. xxv. pp. 59-94, and J E. i. 174 flf.
1 See Hippolytus (in A.N.C.L. vi. p. 130) for Adam legends, zind cf.
Clementine Homilies, ii.
2 Or, "a soul was cast into him." The first editions read: "He
cast a soul into him." See Jalkut, Gen. § 15, and Midrash Abkhir,
and cf. W. R. Harper Memorial Vols. i. p. 258.
' The first editions read : " He made him stand on his feet."
* See Jubilees iii. 34, and cf. Gen. Rab. xxii. 2 and Book of Adam
and Eve (cd. Malan) i. Ixxiii. Perhaps our book refers to the conception
of Abel and his twin-sister. The Church Fathers deal with similar
legends, see Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechism, xii. 6 ; cf. Schatzhohle, p. 7,
and the Book of the Bee, p. 24.
* The first editions add : " They were brought into the Garden
of Eden and." This reading is contradicted by our book, see infra,
p. 84. Sec also th'.- Book of the Bee, p. 23.
* The story of man's creation is recapitulated here and in the next
chapter. We have a collection of three variant accounts of the same
legend. See Introduction.
' See Pal. Targ. Gen. ii. 7 quoted supra, p. 76, nolo 11 ; Gen. Rab.
xiv. 7 and 8 on the creation of Adam. See also T.J. Sabbath ii. 4, p. 5b.
' Gen. Rab. xiv. 8 says: " He was created from the place of his
atonement," i.e. the Temple.
' Palestine ; see Ezek. xxxviii. 12 for the term " navel of the earth."
See Jubil es viii. 12, 19; Eth. Enoch xxvi. i. ; the Book of the Bee,
p. 17; and infra, p. 266.
^^ i.e. adorned him with the faculties which distinguish man from
the beast.
'1 See supra, note 2, on this phrase; and cf. Gen. Rab. loc. cit.
CREATION ON SIXTH DAY 79
Adam stood and he began to gaze upwards and down-
wards.i He saw all the creatures which the Holy One,
blessed be He, had created ; and he ^ was wondering in his
heart, and he began to praise and glorify his Creator, saying,
" O Lord, how manifold are thy works ! " (Ps. civ. 24). ^
He stood on his feet and was adorned with the Divine
Image. His height was from east to west, as it is said,
" Thou hast beset me behind and before " {ibid, cxxxix. 5).
" Behind " refers to the west, " before " refers to the east.^
All the creatures saw him and became afraid ^ of him, think-
ing that he was their Creator, and they came to prostrate
II themselves before him.
Adam said to them : What (is this), ye creatures ! Why
are ye come to prostrate yourselves before me ? ^ Come,
I and you, let us go and adorn in majesty and might, and
^ The first editions add here : " and his height was from one end of
the world to the other/ as it is said, ' Thou hast beset me behind
and before ' (Ps. cxxxix. 5). ' Behind ' refers to the west, ' before '
refers to the east."
2 The first editions read : "he began to glorifv the Name of his
Creator."
3 This quotation from Ps. civ. is very appropriately placed
in Adam's mouth, inasmuch as this psalm is a song of the
Creation.
* This passage in this connection is not in the printed texts.
^ See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 22, and Eccles. Rab. to
Eccles. vi. 10. The word "creatures" of our text reads "ministering
angels" in the Midrashim. Slav. Enoch xxxi. 3 refers to the envy of
Satan " because things were subservient to Adam on earth." See also
Philo, G.T. i. p. 57, n. 3, and Wisdom ix. 2, x. 2.
* Have we here a polemic against Gnostic doctrines ? See
Freudenthal, Hellenistische Studien, p. 69. The idea of the first Adam
being a " lower " God is reflected in the doctrine of the " Second
Adam." See i Cor. xv. 45-49 for the " Second Adam," and cf.
Hellenism and Christianity , pp. 44 f .
^ See T.B. Chagigah, 12a ; and cf. Gen. Rab. viii. i and xxiv. 2.
According to Ecclesiasticus xUx. 16 Adam was " above every hving
thing in the creation " ; the Church Fathers have many legends as to
the original state of Adam before he sinned ; see Basil, discourse on
" God not being the cause of evil," vii., where the original glory of
Adam in Paradise is described; Irenaeus, adv. Hcsr. i. 30. 6, refers
to the legend of the immense size of Adam ; according to Chry-
sostomus (Homilies on i Cor. xvii. 3) Adam was like an angel en-
dowed with the gift of prophecy. See also Hilgenfeld, Die JUdische
Apokalyptik, p. 230 f . For later views of Christian scholars see Diestel,
op. cit. pp. 488 f. On Adam's creation see also Slav. Enoch xxx.
10 ff. The Rabbis held different views on the question of the size of
Adam's body; cf. T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, iia; Baba Bathra, 75a. Cf.
Philo, de Mundi opific. Mi. 32 f. and 35, C.W. i. p. 39, § 136 f., and
P- 4^. §51-
80 RABBI ELIEZER
acclaim as King over us the One * who created us. If
there be no people to acclaim the king as king, the king
acclaims himself.- If there be no people to praise the king,
the king praises himself. In that hour Adam opened his
mouth and all the creatures answered after him, and they
adorned in majesty and might and acclaimed their Creator
as King over themselves, and they said, " The Lord reigneth,
he is apparelled with majesty " {ibid, xciii. 1).^
Ten kings ruled from one end of the world to the other.
The first king was the Holy One, blessed be He, who rules
in heaven and on earth, ^ and it was His intention to raise
up kings on earth, as it is said, " And he changeth the times
and the seasons ; ^ he removeth kings, and setteth up kings "
(Dan. ii. 21).
The second king was Nimrod, who ruled from one end
of the world to the other, for all the creatures were
dwelling in one place and they were afraid of the waters
of the flood,'' and Nimrod was king over them,'^ as it is
said, "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel "^
(Gen. X. 10).
The third king was Joseph, who ruled from one end
of the world to the other, as it is said, " And all the
^ The Prague edition reads : " The Living One." The Slavonic Book
of Adam and Eve (ed. Jagic, p. 9) speaks of Adam praising God in
Paradise in company with the angels.
2 The ist ed. reads this sentence thus: "Because the people
acclaim the king and no king acclaims himself, if there be no people
to acclaim him." The next sentence is omitted by the first editions;
their text continues : " Adam went alone and acclaimed Him king
first, and all the creatures (did likewise) after him, and he said, ' The
Lord reigneth,' " etc.
^ According to T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, 31a. this psalm was recited
in the Temple on the sixth day of the week. This custom still obtains
in the Sjmagogue : see Singer, p. 83.
* See Targumim (Rishon and Sheni) on Esth. i. i, T.B. 'Erubin,
53a, T.B. Megillah, iia, where Ahab, Nebuchadnezzar, and Ahasuerus
only are mentioned. The text of Neh. ix. 5, 6 was probably used by
the writer of our Mid rash. Our book has been used by the writer of
the Midrash of the Ten Kings ; see Horowitz, op. cit. pp. 39 f.
* The MS. omits the rest of the quotation, which is given by the
first editions.
* Cf. Josephus, Ant. i. 4. i.
' See infra, pp. ij^i-. and cf. Jalkut. Gen. § 62, and see Book of
Jashar vii. 45, " And Nimrod reigned in the earth over all the
sons of Noah " ; and cf. Jerahmccl xxxi. 20, Pal. Targ. Gen. x. 10, and
Jalkut ii. § 211. A different explanation is given by Josephus, loc. cit.
* On Nimrod see J.E. ix. 309 ff. and Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics,
pp. 44 f .
CREATION ON SIXTH DAY 81
earth came |1 into Egypt to Joseph " {ibid. xli. 57). It is
not written here "Egypt came," ^ but "they came into
Egypt," 2 for they brought their tribute and their presents
to Joseph to buy (corn) ; for forty years he was second
to the king,3 and for forty years he was king * alone, as
it is said, " Now there arose a new king over Egypt "
(Ex. i. 8).5
The fourth king was Solomon, who reigned from one
end of the world to the other, as it is said, " And Solomon
ruled over all the kingdoms " (1 Kings iv. 21) ; and it says,
" And they brought every man his present,^ vessels of
silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, and armour, and
spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year " {ibid. x. 25).
The fifth king was Ahab, king of Israel, who ruled from
one end of the world to the other,' as it is said, " As the Lord
thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom,^ whither
my lord hath not sent to seek thee " {ibid, xviii. 10). All
the princes of the provinces ^ were controlled i" by him ;
they sent and brought their tribute and their presents to
Ahab. Are not all the princes of the provinces of the
world two hundred and thirty-two ? ^^ as it is said, " Then he
mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces,
and they were two hundred and thirty-two " {ibid. xx. 15).
^ The first editions read : " ' Earth' is not written here, but ' and
all the earth." " Earth or land would refer to Egypt alone, all the earth
refers to all countries.
- See infra, pp. 306 f., and cf. Gen. Rab. xc. 6. "The famine was
restricted to Phoenicia, Arabia, and Palestine," says the Midrash.
^ The first editions add : " of Egypt."
* See T.B. Sotah, iia. Book of Jashar Iviii. 6; and cf. J.E. vii.
248 ff. for " Joseph in Rabbinical literature."
* The Oxford MS. (d. 35) adds " etc." The verse continues : " who
knew not Joseph." Hence the inference that the new king did not
know his predecessor Joseph.
* The rest of the verse is omitted by our MS., but it is given by the
first editions. On Solomon see J.E. xi. 439 f.
' The first editions omit the words " who ruled . . . other."
^ The first editions and our MS. do not continue the quotation, but
add " etc."
9 N'Dns'N or N'3i3x {eirapxla) , prefecture.
1" Or, " were conquered."
" The first editions read here : " Ahasuerus ruled over half the world,
116 provinces, and by the merit of Esther 11 more provinces were
added to him, as it is said, ' Ahasuerus who reigned, from India unto
Ethiopia, one hundred and seven and twenty provinces ' " ^ (Esth. i. i).
^ See Esth. Rab. on Esth. i. i and T.B. Megillah, iia, on the 127
provinces.
6
82 RABBI ELTEZER
The sixth king was Nebuchadnezzar, who ^ ruled from one
end of the world to the other.- Moreover, he ruled over
the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and they
could not open their mouth except by the permission of
Nebuchadnezzar, || as it is said,^ " And wheresoever the
children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the
fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand "
(Dan. ii. 38).
The seventh king was Cyrus,'' who ruled from one end of
the world to the other, as it is said, " Thus saith Cyrus
king of Persia,^ All the kingdoms of the earth hath the
Lord, the God of heaven, given me " (2 Chron. xxxvi. 23).
Ahasuerus ruled over half the world. Is not half the world
but 116 provinces, as it is said, " This is Ahasuerus, who
reigned from India unto Ethiopia" (Esth. i. 1)."
The eighth king was Alexander ^ of Macedonia, who ruled
from one end of the world to the other, as it is said, " And
as I was considering, behold, an he-goat came from the
west 8 over the face of the whole earth " (Dan. viii. 5).
" Over the earth " is not written here, but " over the face
of the whole earth." ^ And not only that, but he \\ished
to ascend to heaven in order to know what is in heaven,
and to descend into the depths in order to know what is in
' See supra, p. 8i, note 7.
- The MS. omits here the following passage, which occurs in this
context in the first two editions : " as it is said, ' And wheresoever the
children of men dwell'" (Dan. ii. 38). The preceding verse reads:
" Thou, O king, art king of kings."
' The first editions vary the quotation by reading Isa. x. 14 :
" And there was none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth,
or chirped." This verse is applied by Isaiah to Sennacherib ; see infra,
pp. 3gc If., for a reference to Nebuchadnezzar; and cf. Dan. ii. 37, and
T.B. Sabbath, 149b. The printed texts differ from the MS. here by
omitting any reference to the beasts of the field.
^ On Cyrus as king of the earth see Jerahmeel Ixxviii. i. See
also T.B. Megillah, 12a. and T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, 3b.
^ The MS. ends the quotation here ; the first editions continue till
" earth," adding " etc.," which also occurs in the MS.
* This paragraph in its context is peculiar to our MS. ; see supra,
p. 81, note II.
' On Alexander the Great in Rabbinic literature see J .E. i. 342 f.,
where a good bibliography is to be found at the end of the article.
See also Jerahmeel, Index, p. 299, s.v. " Alexander."
* The quotation in the MS. ends here ; the first editions agree in
this instance.
" The first editions add here : " that he might know what was at
the ends of the earth." The phrase occurs in a modified form a few
lines lower down in our MS.
CREATION ON SIXTH DAY 83
the depths, 1 and not only that, but he attempted to go to
the ends of the earth in order to know what was at the ends
of the earth. The Holy One, blessed be He, divided his
kingdom ^ among the four corners (or winds) of the heavens,
as it is said, " And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall
be broken, and shall be divided towards the four winds of
the heaven " {ibid. xi. 4).
The ninth king is King || Messiah, who, in the future, will
rule from one end of the world to the other,^ as it is said,
" He shall have dominion also from sea to sea " (Ps. Ixxii. 8) ; ^
and another Scripture text says, " And the stone that smote
the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth "
(Dan. ii. 35).^
The tenth king will restore the sovereignty to its
owners.^ He who was the first king will be the last king,
as it is said, " Thus saith the Lord, the King ... I am the
first, and I am the last;' and beside me there is no God "
(Isa. xliv. 6) ; and it is written, " And the Lord shall be king
over all the earth " (Zech. xiv. 9).^
^ See T.J. 'Abodah Zarah iii. i, 42c.
* See Num. Rab. xiii. 14.
^ Not merely over Palestine does the Messianic kingdom extend,
but over the whole world. This universaUsm is noteworthy.
* This verse is not given in the first editions. The verse continues :
" And from the river unto the ends of the earth."
^ See Jalkut, in loc, and Num. Rab. loc. cit. This verse was known
to Josephus as a Messianic text ; see Ant. x. 10. 4.
* The first editions read: " to its owner"; see infya, p. 130, and
Maimonides, Hilkhoth Melakhim xi. 4.
' The MS. ends quotation here ; the first editions continue the text.
* The Messianic kingdom is universal in space, but not in time ; the
kingdom of God which follows the kingdom of the Messiah will be
eternal and universal. The first editions continue : " and the sove-
reignty shall return to its (rightful) heirs and then, ' The idols shall
utterly pass away. And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day '
(Isa. ii. 18, 17). And He will tend His flock and cause them to lie
down, as it is written, ' I myself will feed my sheep, and I will cause
them to lie down ' (Ezek. xxxiv. 15) ; and we shall see Him eye to
eye, as it is written, ' For they shall see, eye to eye, when the Lord
retumeth to Zion ' " (Isa. Iii. 8).
CHAPTER XIP
ADAM IN PARADISE [14a. ii.]
With love abounding did the Holy One, blessed be He, love
the first man, inasmuch as He created him in - a pure locality,
in the place of the Temple,^ and He brought him into His
palace,^ as it is said, " And the Lord God took the man,
and put him into the garden of Eden ^ to dress it and to keep
it" (Gen. ii. 15). From which place did He take him?
From the place of the Temple, and He brought him into
His palace, which is Eden, as it is said, " And he put him
into the garden of Eden to dress it " {ibid.).^ Perhaps thou
wilt say : ' To plough (the fields) and cast out ^ the stones
* In the MS. this is ch. xi.
* The first editions read : " from a pure and holy place. From
which place did He take him ? From the site of the Temple."
^ Man's body is an emblem of God's sanctuary. In the preceding
chapter we are told that God gathered the dust to form the first man
from the four corners of the earth, establishing thereby the right of
every human being to live and to be buried in any part of the earth.
A similar idea was known to Philo, de Muiidi optftc. Mi. 35, C.W. i.
p. 42, § 51. As to the Temple being the site of Adam's origin
see T.J. Na?;ir vii. 2, 52b. and Gen. Rab. xiv. 8, and cf. infra,
p. 143. Eden was more than a mere garden. See T.B. Berakhoth,
34b.
* " Palace " recalls Dan. xi. 45.
^ The words " lo dress it and to keep it " are missing in the MS., but
they are found in the ist ed.
•This does not occur here in the printed texts, which continue:
" What labour then was there in the midst of the garden, that (the
text) should say : ' to dress it and to keep it ' ? " According to Jubilees
iii. 15, " Adam and his wife were in the garden of Eden for seven
years tilling and keeping it, and we gave him work, and we in-
structed him to do everything that is suitable for tillage." As we
shall see, our book gives an allegorical interpretation of this " work
in Eden."
'' The first editions add here : " There was work (to be done) in the
garden of Eden, namely, that he should prune the vines in the vine-
yards."
•* See Isa. xxviii. 24 for phraseology.
84
ADAM IN PARADISE 85
from the ground.^ But did not all the trees grow up of
their own accord ? ^
Perhaps thou wilt say : There was some other work (to
be done) in the garden of Eden, (such as) to water the garden.
But did not a river flow through and issue forth from
Eden, and water the garden, as it is said, || " And a river
went out of Eden to water the garden " (ibid. 10) ?
What then is the meaning of this expression : "to dress
it and to keep it " ? (The text) does not say " to dress it
and to keep it " except (in the sense) of being occupied with
the words of the Torah ^ and keeping all its commandments,''
as it is said, " to keep the way of the tree of life " {ibid. iii. 24).
But the " tree of life " signifies only the Torah,*^ as it is
said, "It is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon it "
(Prov. iii. 18).
And (Adam) was at his leisure in the garden of Eden,
like one of the ministering angels.^ The Holy One, blessed
be He, said : I am alone in My world and this one (Adam)
also is alone in his ' world. There is no propagation before
Me and this one (Adam) has no propagation in his life ; ^
hereafter all the creatures ^ will say : Since there was no
propagation in his life,^ it is he who has created us.^" It is
^ The first editions add : "or again, that he should pile up the sheaves
or cut (the corn)."
^ Cf. Gen. Rab. xiii. i.
3 Torah means not merely the written word of God, but also its
interpretation and implication.
* The printed texts read differently here : " to keep the way of
the tree of life." See Siphre, D ut. § 41.
^ The Palestinian Targum renders Gen. ii. 15 as follows : " And the
Lord God took the man from the mountains of worship, where he had
been created, and made him dwell in the garden of Eden, to do service
in the Law and to keep its commandments." A similar interpretation
occurs in the Church Father Theophilus {To Avdolycus, ii. 24) and in the
Slavonic Enoch xxxi. i : " And I made a garden in Eden in the East, and
(I ordained) that he should observe the Law and keep the instruction."
* Man is become " like one of us," was interpreted by the Midrash,
Gen. Rab. xxi. 5, and Mekhilta, Beshallach, vi. p. 33a (n. 18 for
parallels) as meaning: "like one of the ministering angels." This
idea of the Midrash was known to Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Tryph. Ixii.
' Some texts read : " My." See Pal. Targum, Gen. ii. rS.
« Lit. " before him."
* Supra, p. 79, we read that the animals wished to worship Adam,
thinking he was their Maker. The belief was prevalent in former days
that all the animals in Paradise were endowed with speech and reasoning
power. See Jubilees iii. 28 (n. 28), and Griinbaum, op. cit. pp. 56, 60.
^^ Our author may wish to refute the notion obtaining in some
non-Jewish rehgions that God had physical oSspring.
86 RABBI ELIEZER
not good for man to be alone, as it is said, " And the Lord
God said. It is not good for man to be alone ; I will make
him an help meet for him ..." (Gen. ii. 18).^
Rabbi Jehudah said : - If he be worthy she shall be an
help meet for him ; if not, she shall be against him to fight
him.^
When the earth heard this expression •* thereupon it
trembled and quaked, crying before its Creator : Sovereign
of all worlds ! I have not the power to feed the multi-
tude ^ of mankind. The Holy One, blessed be He, replied :
I and thou will (together) feed the multitude ^ of mankind.
They agreed to divide (the task) between themselves : the
night was for the Holy One, blessed be He, || and the
day (was apportioned) to the earth.'' What did the
Holy One, blessed be He, do ? He created the sleep of
life,' so that man lies down and sleeps whilst He sustains
* Thereby divine attributes will not be given to him by the other
creatures. They will perceive that man is not omnipotent. Our
Midrash may also hint that Adam (first or Second Adam) was not
the Creator. As we have pointed out, the view that the Second Adam
was the Creator obtained in early Christian circles. See Gen. Rab.
xii. 7.
* The first editions insert here: "Do not read* (in Gen. ii. 18)
k'negdo, ' meet for him,' but (read) I'negdo. ' against him.' "
3 Jalkut. Gen. § 23, reads : " If he be fortunate she will correspond
to him (and be in harmony with him) ; if not, she will oppose him."
According to Rashi she will be a "lash" (" Nigdo ") to him; see
Midrash Agadah on Gen. ii. 18.
* i.e. of man's supremacy over it. Man was to increase and
multiply, to fill the earth and to subdue it (Gen. i. 28). The Oxford
MS. (d. 35) reads : " When the earth heard the expression help-meet."
* Lit. sheep or herd.
* See Ps. xlii. 8.
' See Ps. iii. 5 ; T.B. Berakhoth, 58b ; Gen. Rab. xiv. g, and
Shocher Tob, Ps. xxv. 2; and cf. infra, p. 253. For further
references to Adam legends see Die Sagen der Juden, ed. Micha Josef
bin Gorion, 191 3 (Anhang). Two volumes of this Midrashic collection
have appeared, and in the appendix the sources are given for the
legends deahng with the Creation, the Patriarchs, etc. Equally
interesting and valuable are the Legends of the Jews, by L. Ginzberg ;
the sources of the legends have not yet appeared in the promised
final volume. Parallels to the Midrashim in Christian literature are
dealt with by L. Ginzberg in his Haggada b. d. Kirchenvutern, i., Amster-
dam, 1899. Parallels in Mohammedan literature are given by Geiger,
Was hat Mohammed, etc., and M. Griinbaum, op. cit. pp. 60 ff.. and in
Z.D.M.G. xxxi. pi>. 183!?.; the monographs by Rahmer (on Jerome),
Funk (on Aphraatcs), Gerson, and Goldfahn (on Justin Martyr) should
be consulted for " Christian " Midrashic parallels.
* Jerome employs this formula of Midrashic exegesis {e.g. on Zech.
xiv. 20).
ADAM IN PARADISE 87
him and heals him and (gives) him hfe and repose, as it is
said, " I should have slept : then had I been at rest "
(Job iii. 13). The Holy One, blessed be He, supports (man)
with 1 the earth, giving it water ; and it yields its fruit and
food for all creatures — but the first ^ man's food "in toil^
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life " (Gen. iii. 17).
The Holy One, blessed be He, had compassion upon the
first man (Adam), and, in order that he should not feel any
pain. He cast upon him the sleep of deep slumber,^ and He
made him sleep whilst He took one of his bones from his side
and flesh from his heart ^ and made it into an help (meet for
him) and placed her opposite to him. When he awoke from
his sleep he saw her standing opposite to him.^ And he said,
" Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh " {ibid. ii. 23).
As long as he was alone he was called Adam (man).'
Rabbi Jehudah ^ said : Because of the name Adamah
(ground) whence he was taken, his name was called Adam.
Rabbi Joshua ben Korchah said : He was called Adam because
of his flesh and blood {dclrn ^). He said to him : Adam !
^ The first editions read : " supports the earth."
* The first editions omit : " the first."
^ Or " sorrow/' see 4 Ezra vii. 12, and Jewish Sources of the Sermon
on the Mount, p. 191.
* The deep sleep made Adam insensible to pain ; cf . T.B. Synhedrin,
39a. Tertullian, De Anima, xhii., discusses the " sleep " of Adam.
^ See Pal. Targ. Gen. ii. 21. According to the Lekach Tob, Gen. ii.
21, Eve was made from the sixth rib. Theophilus, op. cit. xxviii.,
discusses why Eve was formed from Adam's rib.
* A similar expression is used by the Book of Jashar i. 4.
' According to the Talmud (T.B. Jebamoth, 63b) an adult male
who lives without a wife is not called man (" Adam "). This designa-
tion was given w^hen God blessed the first pair. This view is opposed
by our author.
* The first editions omit till " R. Joshua ben Korchah."
* See 'Arukh, ed. Kohut, i. p. 34b: "The first man was called
Adam because of the word for earth (Adamah), whence he was taken ; "
and see ibid. p. 307a for another version. The Church Fathers also find
fanciful interpretations of the name of the first man. Augustine on
the Gospel of John ix. 14 explains the four letters of Adam's name
(in Greek) as referring to the East, West, North, and South. Cf.
Slavonic Enoch xxx. 13, and Sibylline Oracles iii. 24-26. Augustine
{op. cit. X. 12) gives the numerical value of Adam as 46, pointing out
that the Temple had stood 46 years at the time of the death of the
Founder of Christianity. The Rabbis were not the only people who
had recourse to " Gematria." The first editions add the following
paragraph : " Immediately he embraced her and kissed her,^ and he
said : Blessed art thou of the Lord,^ thy bone is from my bones
^ Cf. Gen. Rab. xxiii. 5.
* Cf. Ruth iii. 10 for similar phraseology.
I
88 RABBI ELIEZER
Adam ! And when an help-mate had been built for him, his
name was called csh (fire), and she (was called) csli (fire).^
What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do ? He put
His name (n') between their (names), saying : If they go
in My ways || and keep all My precepts, behold My name is
given to them,- it will deliver them from all distress. If
they do not (walk in My ways), behold I will take away My
name from their (names), and they will become tsh (fire).^
And fire consumes fire, as it is said, " For it is a fire that
consumeth unto destruction " (Job xxxi. 12).*
The Holy One, blessed be He, made ten wedding canopies^
for Adam in the garden of Eden. They were all (made) of
precious stones, pearls, and gold. Is it not a fact that only
one wedding canopy is made for every bridegroom,® whilst
three wedding canopies are made for a king ? ' But in order
to bestow special honour upon the first man, the Holy One,
blessed be He, made ten (wedding canopies) in the garden of
Eden, as it is said, "Wast thou in Eden the garden of
God ; was every precious stone " thy covering, the sardius,
topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper,
the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold ? "
(Ezek. xxviii. 13).^ Behold these are the ten canopies.
The angels were playing upon timbrels and dancing with
and it is becoming for thcc to be called woman [ishah), as it is
said."
* The first editions read : " When an help- mate, a woman (ishah),
had been built for him, his name was called man (ish), and she was
called woman (ishah)."
* Ish (ty-N) and ishah (nifN) have the letters Yod (') and Heh (n)
apart from the letters rx which they have in common. See Jerah-
meel vi. i6, and cf. Pal. Targ. Ex. xxviii. 30, on the Ineffable
Name.
3 By removing the letters Yod and Heh from the Hebrew words
ish and ishah each word spells esh, fire; and see T.B. Sotah, 17a.
'' See'Arukh, s.v. " Adam" and s.v. "esh," and cf. T.B. Sotah, 5a.
"* The canopy used at Jewish weddings is still called Chuppah.
The word may also mean Wedding Chamber. For further details,
see Jewish EncyclopcBdia, s.v.\ and cf. T.B. Baba Bathra, 75a; Gen.
Rab. xviii. i; Jalkut, Gen. §20; and Biichler in Monatsschrijt, xlix.,
1905, pp. 18 ft., and in J.Q.R. (New Series) iv. pp. 490 f.
* See Ps. xix. 5.
^ See Cant. iii. 9-1 1.
* The rest of the ver.se is omitted by the MS. and the first editions,
which read : " etc."
* On this verse see Hellenism and Christianity, pp. 99 f. The ten
canopies are apparently indicated by the nine precious stones and
gold as mintioned in the verse. Menorath lia-^Iaor, § 205, states that
the Messiah will have ten canopies. See also B.H.M. iii. p. 60.
ADAM IN PARADISE 89
pipeSji as it is said, " The workmanship - of thy tabrets
and of thy pipes was with thee " (ibid.).
On the day when the first man was created, as it is said,
" In the day when thou^ wast created they were prepared "
(ibid.), the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the ministering
angels : Come, let us descend and render loving service to
the first man and to his help-mate, for the world rests upon
the attribute of the service of loving-kindness.^ The Holy
One, blessed be He, said : More beloved is the service of loving-
kindness than the sacrifices and burnt-offerings which Israel
will bring in the future upon the altar before Me, as it is
said, II " For I desire love, and not sacrifice " (Hos. vi. 6).^
The ministering angels were going to and fro and walking
before him like friends who guard the wedding canopies,^ as
it is said, " For he shall give his angels charge over thee,'
to keep thee in all thy ways " (Ps. xci. 11). (The word)
'"''way^'' here means only the way^ of bridegrooms. The
Holy One, blessed be He, was like a precentor.^ What is the
^ The first editions read : " like females." ^ See Jalkut Makhiri,
Ps. xci. p. 46a.
2 The Hebrew here {Melekheth) suggests angels [Mdldkhim). The
Midrashim which deal with the "Canopies" are numerous. The
subject has not been considered in all its bearings. The Jewish Messiah
will be married, hence the " Canopies," for his wedding. This is
probably a disguised attack on the Christian exaltation of the un-
married state, as exemplified by the Founder of the Christian Church.
The discussion on the Canopies is to be found also in Lev. Rab. xx. 2 ;
Eccles. Rab. viii. i ; Jalkut, Eccles. § 764. According to Dr. Biichler
{J.Q.R., New Series, iv. pp. 490 f.) the word Chuppah might be rendered
" bower." One also thinks of cave or cavern in this connection.
According to the Schatzhohle, p. 7, Adam had one cave after his expul-
sion from Paradise; see also Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) i. v.
^ Adam.
* On Gemilluth Chasadim (Service of Loving-kindness) see Paul
Goodman, Die Liebestdtigkeit im Judentum, and Bergmann, in Soziale
Ethik im Judentum, pp. 51 ff., and see infra. Chapter XVI.
* See infra, p. 107.
* The reading in Menorath Ha-Maor, loc. ciL, isas follows : " And the
ministering angels were going before him like friends who guard the
wedding canopies, as it is said, ' For he shall give his angels charge
over thee, to guard thee on all thy ways'" (Ps. xci. 11). The first
editions read : " ministering angels were like groomsmen."
' The MS. quotes this verse up to " thee " ; the entire verse is given
by the first editions.
* See Prov. xxx. 19.
® Our text is preserved in Menorath Ha-Maor, loc. cit., and cf.
Jalkut Makhiri, Ps. xcii. p. 46a. The precentor is the Chazan. The
period when the Chazan became the Reader of the prayers is that
^ The Hebrew in the text has the same root as the word for female.
90 RABBI ELIEZER
custom observed by the precentor ? He stands and blesses
the bride in the midst of her wedding chamber.^ Likewise
the Holy One, blessed be He, stood and blessed Adam and
his help-mate, as it is said, " And God blessed them "
(Gen. i. 28y-
of the Geonim. See Sopherini, x. 7, xi. 3, 5, and xiv. 14 ; Eppenstein's
article in Monatsschrift, lii., 1908, pp. 467 ft., and infra, p. 109.
1 Qr canopy.
2 This indicates the sacred nature of matrimony, which is aptly
termed Kiddushin (sanctification). See Gen. Rab. xviii. 2 for the
marriage of Adam and Eve.
CHAPTER XIIIi
THE SERPENT IN PARADISE [15 A. ii.]
" Envy, cupidity, and ambition remove man (Adam) from
the world." ^ The ministering angels ^ spake before the
Holy One, blessed be He, saying : Sovereign of all Worlds !
" What is man, that thou shouldst take note of him ? "
(Ps. cxhv. 3). " Man (Adam) is hke unto vanity " ^ {ibid. 4),
upon earth there is not his like.^ (God) answered them :
Just as all of you praise Me in the heights of heaven so he
professes My Unity on earth, ^ nay, moreover, are you able
to stand up and call the names for all the creatures which I
have created ? They stood up, but were unable (to give the
names). Forthwith Adam stood up and called the names for
all His creatures, as it is said, " And the man gave names
to all cattle " (Gen. ii. 20). When the ministering angels
saw this they retreated,' and the ministering angels said :
If we do not take || counsel against this man so that he sin
before his Creator, we cannot prevail against him.^
^ In our MS. this is ch. xii.
2 This is taken from Aboth iv. 28. The three sins enumerated
brought about the sin and punishment of Adam and Eve. See Aboth
de R. Nathan {a) i. and {b) i. ; T.B. Synhedrin, 59b; and infra, p. 125.
^ The parallel text preserved in the Midrash Haggadol, Gen. (ed.
Schechter), c. 86, reads : " the subordmate angels became jealous of him."
* According to our author, if Adam had not sinned he would have
lived for ever. See Z.D.M.G. xxxi. p. 232.
» See Job xli. 33 (Heb. xli. 24), and cf. infra, p. 265.
* Lit. " in the lower regions." See Jalkut, Gen. § 25. According
to Slavonic Enoch xxx. 2, Adam in Paradise sees the heavens open
" that he should perceive the angels singing the song of triumph."
' Or, " they retraced their steps," or " betook themselves back-
ward." This is missing in the first two editions. On the theme see
Gen. Rab. xvii. 4.
* See infra, pp. 367 f., 436, and cf. Jerahmeel xxii. i. The
spirit animating the angels in desiring the fall of man is that of
jealousy; this explains the "envy" quoted from Aboth iv. at the be-
ginning of the chapter.
9'
92 RABBI ELIEZER
Sammael was the great prince in lieaven : ^ the Chajjoth ^
had four wings and the Seraphim had six \vings, and
Sammael had twelve wings. What did Sammael do ? He
took his band ^ and descended ' and saw all the creatures
which the Holy One, blessed be He, had created in His world
and he found among them none so skilled to do evil as the
serpent, as it is said, " Now the serpent was more subtil ^
than any beast of the field " {ibid. iii. 1). Its appearance
was something like that of the camel, ^ and he ' mounted and
rode upon it.^ The Torah began to cry aloud, saying, Why,
O Sammael ! now that the world is created, is it the time ^ to
rebel against the Omnipresent ? Is it like a time when thou
shouldst lift up thyself on high ? i" The Lord of the world
" will laugh at the horse and its rider " ^^ (Job xxxix. 18).
A parable, to what is the matter like ? ^^ To a man in
* At first the " great prince " was Sammael, but after his fall
Michael is "the great prince"; cf. T.B. Chagigah, 12b. On Sam-
mael and Michael see mfra, pp. 192 f., and J.E. x. 665 f. (s.v.
Samael).
^ The Jalkut, Gen. loc. cit.. reads: " The Chajjoth with four wings
and the Seraphim with six wings." Our text and Jalkut {loc. cit.) are
parallel texts ; the printed texts differ slightly. The first editions read :
" The Chajjoth and the Seraphim ^vith six wings." The Midrash Hagga-
dol (Genesis), loc. cit., differs in the arrangement, and omits the reference
to the Chajjoth.
* i.e. troop of angels obeying him. See Geigcr, op. cit. pp. toi f.
* See iw/ra, pp. 99, 193!. 1 he v, ord m^i, "descended," recalls Eth.
Enoch vi. 6, and Jubilees iv. 15 ; cf. Luke x. 18.
° Our MS. ends quotation here, adding " etc."
" The Serpent had the appearance of the camel prior to the punish-
ment meted out to it by God. On the theme see T.B. 'Erubin, i8a;
T.B. Sj^nhedrin, 59b; Gen. Rab. xix. i ; Zohar, Ex. 136a ; and Aboth
de R. Nathan (a) i. p. 3a. In the Slavonic Book of Adam and Eve
(ed. Jagic, p. 26) Satan uses the Serpent to deceive Eve. See
Archelaus, "Disputation with Manes," in A.N.C.L. xx. p. 344, for a
parallel.
' Sammael, or Satan. See Ascension of Isaiah i. 8.
® The Midrash Haggadol, Gen. loc. cit., adds : " and betook himself
to mislead the man."
^ The MS. veads'dd, the first editions read 'is (time) ; so also Midrash
Haggadol, loc. cit.
1" This is quoted from Job xxxix. 18. The R.V. renders. " What
time she lifteth up herself on high." The verse is intended to illustrate
Sammael's sin in approaching Eve and causing Adam to rebel. Accord-
ing to TertuUian, de Patient, v., the Evil One "impatiently bore that
the Lord God subjected the universal works " to man. This led on to
his " envy." He deceived him because he envied him.
'1 The R.V. reads: "She scorneth the horse and his rider."
The " horse " is applied in the Midrash to the Serpent and " the
rider " to Sammael.
'^ The deed of Sammael is illustrated by the parable.
THE SERPENT IN PARADISE 93
whom there was an evil spirit. All the deeds which he
does,^ or all the words which he utters, does he speak by
his own intention ? Does he not act only according to the
idea of the evil spirit, which (rules) over him ? So (was it
with) the serpent. All the deeds which it did, and all the
words which it spake, it did not speak ^ except by the
intention of Sammael. Concerning him, the Scripture says,
" The wicked is thrust down in his evil-doing " (Prov.
xiv. 32).3
A parable, to what is the matter like ? To a king || who
married a woman and made her supreme over all that he
had.^ He said to her : All that I have shall be in thy
hands, except this house,^ which is full of scorpions. A
certain old man visited her ; he asks, for instance,** for
vinegar. He said to her : Wilt thou argue that he deals
kindly with thee ? ' He deals with me (thus) : over all that
he possesses has he made me supreme. Thus said he to her :
Behold, all that I have is given into thy hands except this
house,^ which is full of scorpions. (The old man) said to her :
Is not all the jewellery^ of the king indeed in this house ^?
But 9 he wishes to marry another woman, and to give them
to her. The king is the first man (Adam), the woman is
Eve, and the one who asked for vinegar is the serpent ;i"
and concerning them (the text) says, " There are the workers
of iniquity fallen, they are thrust down, and shall not be
able to rise" ^^ (Ps. xxxvi. 12).
1 The first editions add : " does he do them at his own suggestion ? "
2 The first editions read : " it neither spake nor did."
3 Cf. the version in Jalkut, Gen. loc. cit.
* The first editions add : " consisting of precious stones and
pearls."
5 The first editions read "cask" (rran), and so throughout tlie parable ;
this is more correct than " house " (n'nn) in our text.
* This expression is omitted in the Amsterdam edition of 1708 and in
the Dyhrenf iirth edition. The vinegar was used by the poor for dipping
therein their bread ; see Aboth de R. Nathan [a) xx. p. 36a.
' The first editions read here : " How does the king treat thee ?
She said to him : All that he possesses has he given to me and left
in my hands except this cask."
^ Kosmin (Koafxos). jewellery; see'Arukh, s.v. 'Dip. The reading in the
first editions is corrupt.
» The first editions read : " He spake not thus to thee save for the
rea.son that he wishes to marry another woman."
1" For a variant parable to illustrate the theme taken from Aboth
de R. Nathan (a) i. p. 3b, see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 29.
11 The printed editions omit the second half of the verse.
94 RABBI ELIEZER
The serpent argued with itself, saying : If I go and speak
to Adam, I know that he will not listen to me, for a man
is always hard ^ (to be persuaded), as it is said, "For a man
is churlish and evil in his doings " (1 Sam. xxv. 3) ; but
behold I will speak to Eve,'- for I know that she will listen
to me ; for women listen to all creatures, as it is said, " She
is simple and knoweth nothing " (Prov. ix. 13). The serpent
went and spake to the woman: ^ || Is it ^(true that) you also
have been commanded concerning the fruit of the tree ? ^
She said (to him) : Yes, as it is said, " Of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden " (Gen. iii. 3). And when
the serpent heard the words of Eve, he found a way ® through
which he could enter (to approach her), so he said to her :
This precept is nought else except the evil eye, for in the
hour when ye eat thereof, ye will be like Him, a God. Just
as ' He creates worlds and destroys worlds,^ so will ye be
able to create worlds and to destrov worlds. Just as He
slays and brings to life, so also will ye be able to kill and
to bring to life, as it is said, " For God doth know that in
* See Gen. Rab. xvii. S to illustrate the notion that a man
is more easily appeased than a woman. The quotation from i Sam.
is not in the printed editions. The Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 87,
reads: "for Sammael has no authority over man because he is
hard."
* The first editions read here : " the woman whose mind is feeble."
Slavonic Enoch xxxi. 6 tells us how Satanail or Satan " conceived
designs against Adam ; in such a manner he entered and deceived Eve.
But he did not touch Adam." The " evil eye " mention;! in our text,
infra, might be rendered "envy."
^ For a Christian Midrash on this theme see " Fragments from the
lost writings of Irenseus " in A. N.C.L. ix. p. 166.
■* The first editions add the words in brackets.
* The text is probably corrupt here ; Luria suggests that instead of
the words " this tree " which occur in the printed texts we should
read "this garden." This agrees with the reading preserved in the
Oxford MS. (d. 35), and in Jerahmeel xxii. 2. According to the reading
" this tree," the answer desired by the Serpent would not have been
forthcoming. By asking about the " fruit of the garden" the Serpent
was enabled to mislead Eve. The Talmud (T.B. Synhedrin, 29a) lays
stress on the addition to the Divine command made by Eve when
she said, " neither shall ye touch it" (Gen. iii. 3). Our MS. intends
the question to be quite general : " Is it a fact that you have been
commanded (not to eat) the fruit of any tree ? " This agrees with the
Midrash Haggadol, Gen. loc. cit.
* Lit. " opening." See TertuUian, de Patient., lot. cit.
' The first editions read : " What does He do ? "
* This idea of being able to create other worlds has a parallel in
Slavonic Enoch xxxi. 3 : " And the devil took thought, as if wishing
to make anothey world."
THE SERPENT IN PARADISE 95
the day ye eat thereof,^ then your eyes shall be opened "
{ibid. 5). 2
The serpent went and touched the tree, which commenced
to cry out, saying : ^ Wicked One ! do not touch me ! as it
is said, " Let not the foot of pride come against me, and
let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There are
the workers of iniquity fallen " ^ (Ps. xxxvi. 11, 12).
The serpent went and said to the woman : Behold, I
touched it, but I did not die ; thou also mayest touch it,
and thou wilt not die.^ The woman went and touched the
tree, and she saw the angel of death ** coming towards her ;
she said : Woe is me ! I shall now die, and the Holy One,
blessed be He, will make another woman ^ and give her to
Adam,^ but behold I will cause || him to eat with me ; if we
shall die, we shall both die,^ and if we shall live, we shall
both live. And she took of the fruits of the tree, and ate
thereof, and also gave (of its fruits) to her husband, so that
he should eat with her, as it is said, " And she took of the
fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband
with her " (Gen. iii. 6). When Adam had eaten of the fruit
of the tree, he saw that he was naked,!'' and his eyes were
opened, and his teeth were set on edge. He said to her :
What is this that thou hast given me to eat, that my eyes
should be opened and my teeth set on edge ? ii Just as my
1 The MSS. end the quotation here, but add " etc." ; the first editions
continue the verse.
2 Our MS. ends here the 12th chapter.
3 See Aboth de R. Nathan (a) i. p. 2b, the tree cried out when Eve
stared at it and (desired its fruit). See also Jerahmeel xxii. 3.
* The MSS. give only the verse from Ps. xxxvi. 11; the first
two editions omit the second half of this verse and add the first half
of the next verse.
s The Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 88, adds : " Forthwith the woman
saw that the tree was good for food." See Aboth de R. Nathan, loc.
cit., and Pal. Targum, Gen. iii. 6.
» According to the Pal. Targum {loc. cit.), "and the woman beheld
Sammael, the angel of death, and she was afraid."
' The printed editions add : " for him."
* See Tertulhan, de Patient., loc. cit., where Adam is described as
" not yet Eve's husband."
9 See a similar Midrash in the Church Father Ephraim, Comm. in
Gen. vol. i. p. 35.
^<* See infra, p. 98.
" The first editions add : " against my knowledge." See Jer.
xxxi. 29, 30, and Ezek. xviii. 2. For the Rabbinic sources dealing
with the Serpent, Eve, and Adam see Tosephta Sotah iv. (end) ; T.B.
Sotah, 9a ; Gen. Rab. xix. 4 ; Pesikta Rabbathi, § xv. p. 68b ; Tanchuma,
96 RABBI ELIEZER
teeth were set on edge, so shall the teeth of all generations
be set on edge.^
Lekach Tob and Jalkut, in loc. ; and see Midrash Agadah and Rashi
on Gen. iii., and cf. Jerahmcel xxii. ; sec also Rabbinic Philosophy and
Ethics, pp. 27 ff.; Ginzbcrg, Legends of the Jews, vol. i. pp. 71 ii. ; and
F. R. Tennant, The Fall and Original Sin, 190 s, pp. 152 and 158.
' See the parallel version from Gen. Rab. xix. 5, translated in
Rabbinic Philosophy atid Pthics, p. 28, and cf. Aboth de R. Nathan.
loc. cit., Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 90, " their teeth and the teeth of
all generations." According to Slavonic Enoch xxx. 16: "Therefore
his ignorance is a woe to him that he should sin, and I appointed
death on account of his sin." The expression " to .set the teeth on
edge" in our text means "paying the penalty." See also 4 Ezra
iii. 7.
i
CHAPTER XIV
THE SIN OF ADAM AND EVE [16a. ii.]
Ten descents upon the earth ^ were made by the Holy One,
blessed be He ; they were : (1) Once in the Garden of Eden ;
(2) once at (the time of) the generation of the Dispersion ; 2
(3) once at Sodom ; ^ (4) once at the thorn-bush ; ^ (5) once
in Egypt ; ^ (6) once at Sinai ; « (7) once at the cleft of
the rock ; ^ (8) and (9) twice in the tent of Assembly ; *
(10) once in the future.^
Once in the Garden of Eden ; whence do we know ?
Because it is said, " And they heard the voice of the Lord
God walking in the garden ^^ in the cool of the day " (Gen.
iii. 8). And it is written," " My beloved ^^ is gone down to
1 See Siphre, Numbers, § 93 ; Mekhilta Jethro. 3, p. 64a ; Aboth de R,
Nathan (a) xxxiv. Other parallels are given by Schechter, p. 51b, note 32
of his edition of Aboth de R. Nathan. The other descents are mentioned
in Chapters XXIV., XXV., XXXIX., XL., XLL, XLVI.. and LIII.
2 Cf. infra, pp. 176 1., and Gen. Ralj. xxxviii. 9.
^ See infra, p. 179, and Gen. Rab. xlviii. 7 ; and cf. Jalljut, Gen. § 27,
which reads : " Once in Egypt, once at the thorn-bush, once at Sinaii
once at the cleft of the rock." The reference to Egypt will be dis-
cussed infra, p. 303.
* See T.B. Megillah, 29a, and cf. infra, p. 312.
* This is not in the first editions. See supra, note 3.
« See Mekhilta Jethro, g, p. 72b ; and cf. infra, p. 318.
' Cf. infya, p. 365. The reading in the first two editions is : "twice
at the cleft of the rock." This is probably incorrect ; see supra, note 3,
and cf. Aboth de R. Nathan, loc. cit.
^ See infra, p. 433. Here also we should read, " Once in the tent of
Assembly." Aboth de R. Nathan, loc. cit., has this reading, and refers
to Num. xi. 25.
9 Aboth de R. Nathan {loc. cit.) refers here to Zech. xiv. 4. The
ninth and tenth descents are to be in the future also : see Siphre, loc.
cit.; T.B. Sukkah, 5a; and Othijoth de R.'A^iba, letter He (Tellinek,
B.H.M. iii. p. 24). ^
'0 In the MS. the quotation ends here, the fiirst editions continue
the verse.
11 The first editions have : " And another text says."
1* The " beloved " is God. This verse is quoted because it contains
the verb (nT) "to descend."
7
98 RABBI ELIEZER
his garden, to the beds of spices " (Cant. vi. 2). (God) sat
in judgment,! and He judged with judgment. He said to
him (Adam) : Why didst thou flee - before Me ? He answered
Him : I heard Thy voice ^ and my bones trembled, ' as it
is said, " I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
II because I was naked : and I hid myself " (Gen. iii. 10). ''
What was the dress of the first man ? A skin of nail,^
and a cloud of glory covered him. When he ate of the fruits
of the tree, the nail-skin was stripped off him,' and the cloud
of glory departed from him, and he saw himself naked,
as it is said, " And he said. Who told thee that thou wast
naked ? ^ Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded
thee?" {ibid. 11).
Adam said before the Holy One, blessed be He : Sovereign
of all worlds ! When I was alone, I did not sin against Thee.
But the woman whom Thou hast brought to me enticed me
' See Gen. Rab. xx. 2 ft. for the judgment of the Serpent, Eve, and
Adam. The first editions read here : " He sat in a judgment of truth,
the Judge of righteousness and truth. He called to Adam and said
to him." Cf. I'm pM^ (Burial Service) in Singer, pp. 3181.
- For similar phraseology see Ps. cxxxix. 7. This psalm is interpreted
by the Midrashim as referring to Adam ; see infra, p. 143.
^ The first editions read : " I heard the report of Thee." Cf .
Hab. iii. 2 and Cant. Rab. iii. 6.
* See Job iv. 14 for a similar expression.
* The first editions read here : "And I hid myself from my deed, and
I was afraid of my deed, for I was bare of (the fulfilment of) mv com-
mandment,^ as it is said, ' For I was naked ' " (Gen. iii. 10).-
* The dress of Adam and Eve was, according to the Pal. Targum,
Gen. iii. 7, "onyx-coloured " ; cf. Gc-n. Rab. xx. 12 The legend of an
original skin of nail is preserved in the custom which still obtains
among orthodox Jews, who gaze at their nails with the Habdalah
light at the termination of the Sabbath. Dr. S. Daiches considers this
custom as a relic of nail magic (see Jews' College Publications, v.
pp. 31 f. n. i). According to the Church Father Ephraim, op. cit. p.
139, Adam and Eve lost their angelic endowments immediately after
their sin, their sight and power of discerning became limited only to
matters corporeal and sensible ; see the Book of Adam and Eve (ed.
Malan), p. 215, for this reference. See also Odes o[ Solomon, pp. 66 ff.
and 69, notes i, 2.
' The first editions add here, " and he saw himself naked," and not
after the words, " and the cloud of glory departed from him." See
Pal. Targ. Gen. loc. cit. A similar tradition is preserved in the Coptic
Apocryph:!, ed. Budge, p. 250.
* The MSS. end the quotation here, the first editions continue the
verse.
* Some of the old editions read : " Thy commandment" ; see also
Ezek. xvi. 39.
* " Naked," i.e. Adam was stripped of his dress of glory as a conse
quence of his disobedience.
THE SIN OF ADAM AND EVE 99
away from Thy ways,* as it is said, " The woman whom
thou gavest to be with me,^ she gave me of the tree, and I
did eat " {ibid. 12). The Holy One, blessed be He, called 3
ujito Eve, and said to her : Was it not enough for thee that
thou didst sin in thy own person ? But (also) that thou
shouldst make Adam sin ? She spake before Him : Sovereign
of the world ! The serpent enticed my mind to sin before
Thee, as it is said, " The serpent beguiled me, and I did
eat " {ibid. 13). He brought the three * of them and
passed sentence of judgment upon them, consisting of
nine curses and death.
He cast down Sammael ' and his troop from their holy
place in heaven,*" and cut off the feet of the serpent,' and
decreed that it should cast its skin and suffer pain once in
seven years in great pain, and cursed it || that it should
drag itself with its belly (on the ground), and its food is
turned in its belly into dust^ and the gall of asps,^ and
death is in its mouth,*" and He put hatred between it and
the children of the woman,** so that they should bruise its
^ The first editions read : " Thy words." See B.H.M. iii. pp. 60 f.
^ The MSS. end the quotation here.
' The first editions add here : " He said."
* See Pal. Targ. Gen. iii. 16 and cf. Gen. Rab. xx. 2, 3.
^ On the identification of Sammael with the Devil see Wisdom ii.
24, Pal. Targum on Gen. iii. 6 ; see also Rev. xii. 9 and xx. 2.
Paul in 2 Cor. xi. 3 refers to the beguiling of Eve by the Serpent.
On the speaking of the Serpent see Jubilees iii. 7 and Josephus,
Ant. i. I. 4. According to Slavonic Enoch xxxi. 3, " The devil
took thought, as if wishing to make another world, because things
were subservient to Adam on earth. . . . He became Satan after he
left the heavens." See T.B. Sabbath, 55a, for the Haggadic account
of Adam and Eve and the Serpent.
* " But the wicked Satan . . . I hurled him down from heaven,
he it is who made the tree appear pleasant in your eyes," says
the Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) i. i.; cf. ibid. xlv. The
Fall of Satan is mentioned in Luke x. 18, John xii. 31, and cf.
Eph. ii. 2.
' This Midrash was known to Josephus ; see Ant. loc. cit. The first
editions add : " And He cursed it more than all living beasts and all
cattle." Two curses are set forth here ; cf. T.B. Bechoroth, 8a, and see
Gen. Rab. xx. 5, Tosephta Sotah iv. 17, 18.
* Cf. Job XX. 14 ; T.B. Joma, 75a : " The serpent brought man back
to dust, and therefore dust is its food."
^ See Pal. Targum on Gen. iii. 14. "A deadly venom shall be in
thy mouth, and thou shalt eat dust all the days of thy life."
1" See Job XX. 16.
^^ The New Testament refers to this incident in i John iii. 8, Col. ii.
15, Heb. ii. 14 ff., Rom. xvi. 20, and see Revelation of Moses (in
"Ante-Nicene Christian Library," xvi. p. 461). Ephraim, op. cit., refers
100 RABBI ELIEZER
head,^ and after all these (curses comes) death.^ He gave
the woman nine curses and death : the afflictions arising
from menstruation and the tokens of virginity ; ^ the
affliction of conception in the womb ; and the affliction
of child-birth ; and the affliction of bringing up children ;
and her head is covered like a mourner,' and it is not
shaved except on account of immorality, and her ear is
pierced like (the cars of) perpetual slaves ; ^ and like a
hand-maid she waits upon her husband ; and she is not
believed in (a matter of) testimony ; ^ and after all these
(curses comes) death.
He extended pardon " to Adam (as to a part of the)
nine curses and death. He curtailed his strength, and He
shortened his stature ^ by reason of the impurity connected
with issues and with pollution ; ^ as well as the impurity
arising from sexual intercourse ; he was to sow wheat and
to reap thistles,^" and his food was to be the grass of the earth,
like that of the beast ; and (he was to earn) his bread in
to the cutting off of the Serpent's feet ; see ■^upra, p. 99, note 7. The
first editions read : " between it and the woman."
' See T.J. Kiddushin iv. 11, p. 66c, and Sophrim xv. 10, for the
rule, " Break the head of the best among serpents."
- Cf. the words of Wisdom, loc. cit., " But through the devil's envy
came death into the world " ; see also Slavonic Enoch xxxi. 3.
3 See T.B. 'Erubin, loob, and Aboth de R. Nathan fa) i. p. 2b.
^ For an example of this see Biichler, The Economic Condition of
Judea, p. 53, and see T.B. Kiddushin, 72a. The New Testament also
directs women to have their heads covered ; see i Cor. xi. 5 and cf. the
Apostolic Constitutions, i. 8. In our MS. and in the Oxford MSS. as
well as in some of the old editions of our book {e.g. Venice, 1544)
after " mourner " the words " she is not shaved except on account of
immorality," occur, but later editions have deleted the passage. This
phrase is of great importance in view of Dr. Biichler's interesting
and learned monograph on this theme. A special note at the end of
the book will recapitulate the results of Dr. Biichler's investigations,
as the date of P.R.E. may possibly be determined by the perio.l when
the custom of cutting the hair of the immoral woman as a punishment
obtained.
* Schwally, Das Leben nach dem Tode, p. 39, refers to the inference
suggested by the perforation of a woman's ears; see also Z.A.T.W.,
i89i,p. 183.
* Because Adam listened to Eve, and was led astray by her ; see
'Arukh, ed. Kohut, v. 394b.
' Our MS. TLads Dicn (pardon). The Oxford MS. (d. 35) reads
D'on (retribution), and Oxford MS. (O.A. 107) ha^^ in (his sentence).
The printed texts omit this and read : " He drew Adam aside and
decreed against him nine curses and death."
* See Coptic Apocrypha, p. 250 : " his body diminished in size."
» See T.B. Synhedrin, ibb.
" See Gen. Rab. xx. 10, and Tanna de bd Elijahu Rab. xxxi. p. 164.
THE SIN OF ADAM AND EVE 101
anxiety, and his food by the sweat (of his brow) ; and
after all these (curses came) death.^
If Adam sinned, what was the sin of the earth, that it
should be cursed ? Because it did not speak against the
(evil) deed,2 therefore it was cursed ; for in the hour when
the sons of man transgress the graver sins || God sends a
plague ^ to the sons of man ; and in the hour when the sons
of man transgress sins less vital, He smites the fruits of the
earth,* because of (the sins of) the sons of man, as it is said
" Cursed is the ground for thy sake " {ibid. 17).
1 For a Christian interpretation of the judgment, see Revelation oL
Moses, loc. cit. p. 460 f.
" By protesting and warning Adam ; see Pal. Targum, Gen. iii. 17.
3 See Aboth (v. end). T.B. Sabbath, 32a, and T.B. Joma, 83a.
The Church Fathers have very elaborate expositions of the " Fall "
and its consequences. Thus Irenaeus (adv. Hcbv. iii. 3) writes : " It
was for this reason, too, that immediately after Adam, as the Scripture
relates, He pronounced no curse against Adam personally, but against
the ground, in reference to his works; as a certain person among the
ancients has observed, ' God did indeed transfer the curse to the earth,
that it might not remain in man.' But man receives as a punish-
ment of his transgression the toilsome task of tilling the earth, and to
eat bread in the sweat of his face, and to return to the dust whence he
was taken. Similarly also did the woman (receive) toil, and labour,
and groans, and the pangs of parturition, and a state of subjection, that
is, that she should serve her husband ; so that they should neither perish
altogether when cursed by God, nor, by remaining unreprimanded,
should be led to despise God. But the curse in all its fulness fell upon
the serpent which had beguiled them." For other references see
Diestel, op. cit. (in Index), and Thalhofer, Bibliothek dev Kirchenvdter (in
Index).
* See Coptic Apocrypha, p. 243 : " the fruit of the earth is Uttle
because of the sins of man."
CHAPTER XV
THE TWO WAYS [17 A. i.J
Rabbi Eliezer said : I heard with my ear ^ the Lord of
hosts speaking. What did He speak ? He said : " See, I
have set before thee this day life and good, and death and
evil " (Dent. xxx. 15). The Holy One, blessed be He,
said : Behold, these two ways ^ have I given to Israel, one
is good, the other is evil. The one which is good, is of
life ; and the one which is evil, is of death.^ The good
way has two byways, one of righteousness and the other
of love, and Elijah,^ be he remembered for good, is placed
exactly between these two ways.-^ When a man comes
to enter (one of these ways), Elijah,*' be he remembered
for good, cries aloud concerning him, saying, " Open ye
1 See Isa. v. 9, and note the Targum thereon. R. EHezer ben
Hyrkanos was held to be worthy of being endowed with the Holy Spirit ;
see T.J. Sotah (end) and T.B. Synhedrin, iia; Jalkut, Job, § 919.
* The theme of this chapter of our b^ok is the Jewish doctrine of
the Two Ways, the ways of good and evil, or of Hfe and death. Adam
did not keen the "way of life" (see supra, p. 85) ; he disobeyed God
by taking of the fruit of the tree of "good and evil." The "Way of
Life" in Paradise was guarded by the Cherubim, and the earthly way
of " good and evil " is likewise in the charge of angels, good and evil.
Slavonic Enoch xxx. 15 connects the " two ways " with Adam before
his disobedience. On the " Two Ways " see Jewish Sources of the
Sermon on the Mount, pp. 239 flf. See also Gen. Rab. xxi. 5. The
Christian literature has also its doctrine of the Two Ways ; sec the
Apostolic Constitutions, vii. i ; Epistle of Barnabas xviii.-xx. ; Hermas,
Mand. vi. 2 ; Pseudo-Clementine Homilies, v. 7; and for "Heaven and
Hell " see the Revelation of Peter (ed. Robinson and James, 1892, pp. 48 £f.) .
See; also Test. XII Pal., Asher i. 3, with Charles' note in loc. Some of
the printed texts read " ttvo words " instead of " two ways." The
latter is, of course, the correct reading ; see Jalkut, Job, loo. cit.
3 SeeT.B. Joma, 38b. ' " "■
* On Elijah in Jewish Uterature see supra, p. 2, note 7 ; J.E. v.
122 ff . ; Schechter, Aspects of R.ibbinic Theology, p. 288.
^ i.e. the ways leading to life and death.
'See supra, p. 95; T.B. Kiddushin, 70a; Ruth Rab. v. 6. On
Elijah's work see Seder Olam Rab. xvii.
THE TWO WAYS 103
the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth truth
may enter in " (Isa. xxvi. 2). And there cometh Samuel
the prophet, and he places himself between these two by-
ways.i He says : On which of these (two byways) shall I
go ? If I go on the way of righteousness, then (the path)
of II love is better than the former ; if I go on the way of
love, (the way) of righteousness is better : but I call heaven
and earth to be my witnesses ^ that I will not give up either
of them.^
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him : Samuel !
Thou hast placed thyself between these two good byways.
By thy life! I will give to thee three good gifts. This
teaches thee that everyone who doeth^ righteousness and
sheweth the service of love, shall inherit three good gifts,
and they are: life, righteousness, and glory, as it is said,
" He that followeth after righteousness and love, findeth
life, righteousness, and glory" (Prov. xxi. 21). It is only
written here (in the text) : " He findeth life, righteousness,
and glory." ^
(Leading) to the way of evil, there are four *' doors, and
at each door seven angels ^ are standing — four without,
and three within. The (angels) without are merciful, and
those within are cruel. When a man comes to enter,^ the
merciful angels go to meet him and say to him : What
hast thou to do with the fire yonder? What hast thou
to do with those glowing coals ? ^ Listen to us and
1 Samuel, like Elijah, sought to reconcile God and man. On Samuel
in Rabbinic literature see J.E. xi. 7. On the idea in our Midrash see
I Sam. ii. 26 ; according to this text, Samuel grew in favour with God
and man. The favour of God is the result of " righteousness," whilst
the favour of man is due to " love " between man and his fellow.
- This expression is verv common in the Tanna de be Elijahu.
' The first editions add here : " but I will take them for myself." See
Eccles. vii. 18.
* The first editions read " who desireth and doeth," instead of
" doeth." Luria suggests " pursueth."
° This sentence is missing in the printed editions.
* Cf . the three sins ai Israel mentioned by Amos ii. 6 and the four
calls of Wisdom in Prov. i. 20 ff.
' The first editions read : " seven watchers, angels, are sitting," i.e.
guardian angels.
* The first editions add : " the first door."
» The first editions read : " Why wilt thou enter into the midst of
this fire ? Why wilt thou enter among the uncircumcised and the
glowing coals ? " Luria reads " flames " instead of " uncircumcised."
The picture of Gehenna in our context may be suggested by the " swords
104 RABBI ELIEZER
repent.^ If he hearken to them and repent, behold
it is well, and if not, he says to them : - Amongst them
(yonder) let my life (be). || They say to him : Thou hast
entered the first door ; do not enter the second door.
When he comes to enter the second door, the merciful ^,
angels go to meet him and say to him : What benefit is it
to thee to be erased ^ from the Torah of thy God ? ' Would
it not be better to be inscribed in the Torah of thy God ?
Hearken unto us and repent. If he listen to them and
repent, it is well ; and if not, he says to them : '' With them
yonder let my life (be). They say to him : Behold thou
hast entered the second door, do not enter the third door.
When he is about to enter the third door the merciful angels
go to meet him and say to him : " What benefit is to thee
that they {i.e. the good angels) should flee from thee and
call tliee " Unclean " ? Would it not be better that they
should call thee " Pure One " and not " Unclean " ?
Hearken to us and repent. If he hearken unto them,
behold, it is well ; and if not, he says unto them : With them
(yonder) let my life (be). They say to him : Behold thou
hast entered the third door ; do not enter the fourth door !
When he is about to enter the fourth door the merciful
angels go to meet him and say to him : Behold, thou hast
entered these doors, and thou hast not hearkened nor
returned.' Thus far the Holy One, blessed be He, receives
of flaming fire " in the hands of the Cherubim guarding Paradise.
The " flaming fire " is outside Paradise. For the " everlasting fire "
m the New Testament see Matt. xxv. 41 ; the old editions {e.g. Amster-
dam) read D'li, " mountains," instead of " wicked."
1 Or " return " ; possibly the word implies " repent and return."
^ The first editions read here : " If he hearken to them it is well;
and if not, verily they say to them : Amongst them (yonder) there is no
life." Our MS. has undoubtedly the better reading.
^ The first editions read : " to bo removed."
* The first editions omit the next sentence and read instead : " that
they (i.e. the good angels) should call thee ' Unclean,' and that they
should flee from thee."
* See note z iihovr.
* The first editions read, instead of our text, the following : "Why
wilt thou be erased from the book of life ? * Is it not better for thee
to be inscribed (therein) rather than to be erased (therefrom) ? Hearken
unto us, and repent. If he listen to them, it is well ; and if not, woe to
him and to his head ! " See Wisdom i. 13.
' The translation might also be, " repented." See Jalljut, Job, loc. cit.
» On the " Book of Life " see T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, i6b, and cf.
Jeremias, Babyl. im N.T. ; see also Isa. xxx. 8.
THE TWO WAYS 105
II the penitent ; thus far the Holy One, blessed be He, pardons ^
and forgives,^ and every day He says : Return, ye children
of man, as it is said : ^ " Thou turnest man to contrition " ^
(Ps. xc, 3).
The cruel angels ^ say : Since he would not hearken
to the first (angels), let us cause his spirit to depart, as it is
said, " Let his spirit go forth, let him return to his earth "
(ibid, cxlvi. 4). And concerning them ^ (the Scripture) says : ^
" Upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them
that hate me " (Ex. xx. 5) ; and another verse says : " Lo,
all these things doth God work, twice, yea thrice, with a
man " (Job xxxiii. 29). And thus He calls to Eliezer.^
The Holy One, blessed be He, said : Eliezer ! Thou
hast made thyself like a threefold cord,^ as it is said, " And
a threefold cord is not quickly broken " (Eccles. iv. 12). I
also will apply to thee this verse : " Thou shalt be perfect
with the Lord thy God " (Deut. xviii. 13). Do not read thus,
but : " Thou shalt be perfect before'^^ the Lord thy God."
' The first editions add " sins."
2 See T.B. Joma, 86b, and T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, i6a.
' The first editions read, instead of our quotation, the following :
" ' Return, ye backsliding children ' (Jer. iii. 14). If man hearken unto
them, it is well ; and if not, woe to him and to his destiny ! " 1
* Or " destruction. ' See T.B. Chagigah, i6a, for an instance of re-
pentance even after death; see also Jalkut Makhiri, Ps. xci. 18, and
infra, p. 341.
^ See Prov. xvii. 11 and cf. Shocher Tob, Ps. i. 22, p. lib, and
cf. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, cv., on the " evil angel taking
our soul." See also Hippolytus (Against Plato, ed Lagarde, p. 69).
® The unrepentant.
^ The printed texts omit the quotation from Ex. xx. 5 and conclude
the quotation from Job xxxiii. 29 with the word " work," adding " etc."
* Luria thinks that probably the text originally ended with a
reference to Samuel. The first editions agree with our MS. and read
" to Eliezer," indicating Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanos, whose name
also occurs at the beginning of the chapter.
* The printed texts omit the quotation from Eccles. iv. 12. Some of
the texts read, " Hast thou made thyself ? " etc. The threefold cord is
Torah, Divine Worship, and Loving Service. R. Ehezer had acquired
Torah, and devoted his life to the service of God ; and by his action to
his brothers he rendered loving service to them. The reference to
Samuel would be just as likely.
*" In the MS. the texts " with the Lord " are identical. This is clearly
due to an error of a copyist. See Jalljut, Deut. § 919, and cf. Siphre,
Deut. § 173. I have followed the reading of the Pesiljta ?utarta,
p. 30b.
^ Sjd, planet, luck or destiny.
CHAPTER XVI
THE SERVICE OF LOVING-KINDNESS [17b. ii.]
The world rests upon three things : upon the Torah, upon
Divine Worship, and upon the service of loving-kindness.^
"■ Upon the Torah," whence do we know (this) ? Because
it is written, " If my covenant - of day and night stand
not " (Jer. xxxiii. 25) ; and (another text) says, " This
book of the Torah shall not depart out of thy mouth, ^
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night " (Josh. i. 8).
Whence do we know (that the world rests) upon the service
of loving-kindness ? Because it is said, " For I desired
love, II and not sacrifice " (Hos. vi. 6). Whence do wc know
(that the world rests) upon Divine Worship ? Because
it is written, "And the prayer of the upright is his delight " ^
(Prov. XV. 8).5
* See Aboth i. 2; Pesikta Rabbathi, v. p. 15b; and cf. supra,
p. 89, and infya, p. 122.
^ God's covenant is the Torah ; see T.B. Sabbath, 33a ; cf. T.B.
Pesachim, 54a; and T.B. Nedarim, 32a. The argument by analogy
afforded by comparing similar words in two different verses of Scripture
is known as " Gezerah Shavah," and is employed here. For examples
see Levy, N.H.W. i. 320 f . ; and cf . Bacher's Terminologie, i. ■;.«. pp. 1 3 ff .
^ The rest of the verse is omitted by our MS. ; it occurs in the first
editions. The MS. adds the paragraph following dealing with the service
of loving-kindness.
■• Luria thinks that the text should read : " (The world rests) upon
Divine Worship. What is this (Worship)? Prayer." The preceding part
of the verse quoted reads : ' ' The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination
to the Lord, and the prayer of the upright is his delight" (Prov. xv. 8).
In Mai. ii. 13 "delight" is used instead of "offering." On this theme see
Aboth de R. Nathan {a) iv. p. gb ; T.J. Megillah iii. 7. 74b ; Num. Rab.
xii. 12. The ethical lesson here is noteworthy : knowledge of God's Law
must find expression, on the one hand, in Divine Worship, and, on the
other, in the service of loving-kindness to humanity. Judaism claims
to be the highest expression of religious truth, and stands or falls by
the ethical teaching it enunciates.
* The first editions add : " What is the Divine Worship ? Prayer,
for thus we find in Daniel, to whom Darius said : ' Thy God whom
106
SERVICE OF LOVING-KINDNESS 107
Whence do we learn of the service of loving-kindness for
bridegrooms ? We learn (this) from the Holy One, blessed
be He ; for He Himself bestowed loving-kindness upon
Adam and his help-mate. The Holy One, blessed be He,
said to the ministering angels : Come ye and let us show
loving-kindness to Adam and his help-mate. The Holy
One, blessed be He, descended with the ministering angels
to show loving-kindness to Adam and his help-mate.^ The
Holy One, blessed be He, said : More beloved unto Me is the
service of loving-kindness than sacrifices and burnt-offer-
ing which Israel, in the future, will bring on the altar before
Me, as it is said, " For I desired love, and not sacrifice "
(Hos. vi. 6).2
Rabbi Jose said : From whom do we learn of the seven
days of banquet ? ^ From our father Jacob.* For when
our father Jacob married Leah, he made a banquet with
rejoicing for seven days, as it is said, " Fulfil the week ^
of this one" (Gen. xxix. 27).^
thou servest continually, he will deliver thee ' (Dan. vi. i6). Was
there any Divine Worship in Babylon ? ^ But this (refers to) Prayer."
1 In the Garden of Eden ; see supra, pp. S8 If.
^ See supra, pp. 76, 84, 89, for the idea that the world rests on love.
Here the stress is on " I desire!," since God's desire or will is the cause
of the world's existence. The bridegroom is especially mentioned,
because the study of the Torah is to be set aside in order to render
the service of loving-kindness to the bride and bridegroom. The
Jewish teachers did not encourage celibacy ; neither was the cult of
virginitrs'- considered a desirable element in religion, as was the case
in the Christian Church. It is possible that the emphasis laid on the
Divine participation in Adam's nuptials was intended to counteract
the attitude of the Church towards marriage ; see i Cor. vii. 8 ; Matt.
xix. 10, 12. This section in our book should be compared with the latter
part of Chapter XII. ; see also Pesikta de R. Kahana, p. 172b (end).
^ At a wedding. The marriage feast is mentioned in the parables
of the N.T. ; see Matt. xxii. 2 ff .
* See Nachmanides on Gen. xxix. 27 ; and cf. T.J. Kethuboth i. i,
p. 25a, and Jalkut, Judges, § 70.
* See Pal. Targum, in loc.
* The first editions add : " And all the men of the place were gathered
together to render loving service to Jacob, as it is said : ' And Laban
gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast ' (Gen.
xxix. 22). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them : Ye have
shown loving-kindness to Jacob, My servant. I will deal kindly and give
you your reward in this world, ^ because there is no reward for evil-
doers in the world to come, as it is said, ' Because by him the Lord
* In Babj'lon and elsewhere outside Palestine the sacrificial cult
was replaced by prayer; see Siphre, Deut. § 41, p. Soa ; and cf. Esther
Rab. viii. 7.
* See T.B. Kiddushin, 40b, and T.B. 'Erubin, 22a.
108 RABBI ELIEZER
Rabbi Simeon ^ said : Our father Abraham wrote (in
his will and bequeathed) all that he had as an inheritance ^
to Isaac, as it is said, " And Abraham gave all that he had
unto Isaac " {ibid. xxv. 5). He took the document and
gave it into the hands of Eliczer, his servant, (who) said,
Since the document is in my hand all his money is in my
hand,' so that he might go and be recommended ' (thereby)
in his ^ father's house and with his family.
From Kirjath || Arba unto Haran was a journey of seven-
teen days ; and in three hours ^ the servant came to Haran.
He was astonished in his mind ^ and he said : This day I
went forth, and this day I arrived, as it is said, " And I
came this day unto the fountain " {ibid. xxiv. 42).
Rabbi Abbahu said : The Holy One, blessed be He,
wished to show loving-kindness to Isaac, and he sent an
angel *^ before Eliczer ; and the way was shortened for
him, so that the servant came to Haran in three hours.
And everything ^ is revealed before the Holy One, blessed
be He. A daughter of Icings,^*' who in all her life had never
gone forth to draw water, went out to draw water in that
hour. And the girl, who did not know who the man ^^ was,
accepted (the proposal) to be married to Isaac. Why ?
had given victory unto Syria' (2 Kings v. i), and he* received his
reward." *
* The first editions read : " Shemajah."
-See infra, p. 215; and cf. T.B. Baba Bathra, 130a. Isaac was
destined to be Abraham's heir according to God's promise; see Gen.
XV. 4. The first editions omit the quotation, Gen. xxv. 5.
* The words of Ehezer are not in the first editions.
* By the will of Abraham everything in his possession passed to
Isaac. This circumstance would be appreciated by the family of
Rebecca. Sec Gen. Rab. lix. 10.
' Abraham's.
* The " shortening of the way " occurs also in the Gospel of Pseudo-
Matthew xxii. (A.N.C.L. xvi. p. 38), and see A.R.W. xvi. p. 169.
' Lit. " heart."
* See Gen. xxiv. 7, and cf. Gen. Rab. loc. cit
* Cf. Luria's reading based on Jalkut Makhiri, Ps. Ixii. 5.
10 SeeMidrashHaggadol, Gen. c. 367. For Bethuel as king see Jalkut,
Gen. § 109, and Sopherim xxi. (cd. MuUer) p. 304, n. 46.
11 The reading in the Jalkut, loc. cit.. is : " And the girl knew not man."
This reading is probably due to Gen. xxiv. 16. Clement of Alexandria
gives a parallel Haggadic interpretation in his Strom, iv. 25.
* Laban.
* By the victory of Aram, the service of loving-kindness rendered
to Jacob by Laban was requited to the descendants of Laban the
Aramean. See infra, p. 112.
SERVICE OF LOVING-KINDNESS 109
Because she had been destined ^ for him from his mother's
womb,2 as it is said, " In the balances they will go up, they
are together lighter than vanity " ^ (Ps. Ixii. 9).
Laban and Bethuel answered : Since (this) word has
come forth from the mouth of the Almighty, we cannot
prevent it, as it is said, " Then Laban and Bethuel answered
and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord : ^ we cannot
speak unto thee bad or good " (Gen. xxiv. 50). " Behold;
Rebecca is before thee ; take her and go " (ibid. 51).
The servant arose early in the morning and saw the angel
standing and waiting for him in the street. He said to
them : ^ "Do not hinder me,^ for the Lord hath prospered
my way " {ibid. 56). For behold, the man who came with
me yesterday, he has prospered my way ; behold, he is stand-
ing II and waiting for me in the street,'' as it is said, " And
he said to them. Do not hinder me, for the Lord hath pros-
pered my way." They ate and drank at Rebecca's (bridal)
banquet.*^ Like a precentor, who is standing and blessing
the bride in her bridal canopy,^ so they stood and blessed
Rebecca their sister (wedded) to Isaac, as it is said, " And
they blessed Rebecca, and said unto her, Our sister ..."
{ibid. 60).i»
At six hours of the day ^^ the servant went forth from
Haran, and he took Rebecca and Deborah her nurse and
made them ride upon the camels. So that the servant
should not be alone with the maiden (Rebecca) by night,
1 See Targum On^elos to Gen. xxiv. 14.
2 i.e. from his birth. The first editions read : " from her mother's
womb."
3 Cf. Lev. Rab. xxix. 8, Gen. Rab. Ux. 9, T.J. Bezah v. 2, 63a.
* The MS., the Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 368, and the first editions
end the quotation here, and add: " etc."
° Eliezer is speaking to Laban and his friends.
« The MS. ends the quotation here ; the first editions continue the
verse, and then the printed texts read : " Behold he is in the street, wait-
ing for me. Thev ate and drank at Rebecca's banquet, as it is said."
' The Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 370, refers here to the " angel " who
accompanied Ehezer.
« The first editions add parts of verses 54 and 56 of Gen. xxiv.
» See Midrash Haggadol, Gen. loc. cit. ; and cf. supra, pp. Sgf., and
see Kallahi., and Tosaphoth, Kethuboth, 7b, s.v. nDNJB'.
10 This was a marriage by proxy. The Rabbis differ as to whether
the nuptial benedictions caii be said only in the presence of the bride
and bridegroom; see R. Nissim on T.B. Sukkah, 25b, and RITBA on
Kethuboth, 8a.
11 i.e. at noon, twelve o'clock. See Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 371,
for a parallel text.
110 RABBI ELIEZER
the earth was contracted ^ before him, and in three hours the
servant came to Hebron at the time of the prayer of
the afternoon-evening.- And Isaac had gone forth to say
the afternoon-evening prayer, as it is said, "And Isaac went
forth to meditate in the field towards even" [ibid. 63). ^
Rabbi Simeon ' said : Abraham spake to Isaac his son
(saying), This servant^ is suspected of all the transgressions
of the Torah, and deceit is in this servant,^ as it is said,
" He is a Canaanite," the balances of deceit are in his hand ;
he loveth to defraud " (Hos. xii. 7). See, lest he has defiled
her,^ therefore bring the girl into the tent and examine her
tactually;^ 1| and if she be undefiled, behold, she is destined
1 The Pal. Targum on Gen. xxiv. 6i states: "And as the way was
shortened for him in his journey to Paddan-Aram, so was it shortened
for him on his return, so that in one day he went and in one day he
returned."
-i.e. at 3 p.m. The MS. reads: " the afternoon of the evening."
The first editions read " afternoon." Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit., has
" evening." The word " Minchah " is used to designate the " afternoon
prayer " or the " afternoon offering " ; see Jastrow, T.D. 779a.
^ The first editions add : " Meditation (Sichah) is nought else save
prayer,* as it is said, ' A prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed
and poureth out his complaint (Siach) before the Lord' " (Ps. cii. i).
See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 84. Gen. Rab. Ixviii. 9 quotes
here Ps. cxlii. 2, instead of Ps . cii. i as above.
* The first editions read : " Ishmael."
* The Prague edition reads : " O my son ! this servant," etc.
' The first editions read : " This servant is suspected of transgres-
sions, and deceit is in his hand." n-^^zy (transgression) often means
" immorality."
'Servants or slaves were called "Canaanites" in consequence of
Noah's curse upon his son Ham, whose son was Canaan ; cf. T.B. Baba
Bathra, 92b.
* "Zinor," euphem. for vagina; see 2 Sam. v. 8.
* For a parallel see the legends of the Virgin Mary and Salome in
" Ante-Nicene Christian Library," xvi. p. 12 (The Protevangelium of
James) ; and cf . same story in same volume, p. 32, The Gospel of Pseudo-
Matthew, and see Hennecke, Apokryphen d. N.T., p. 61 ; see also
Tertullian, " Oa the Veiling of Virgins," xi. R. Simeon's infer-
ence is based on the view that obtained in ancient times that slaves
could be reasonably suspected of loose conduct ; see T.B. Berakhoth,
45b ; T.B. Pesachim, 91a and 113b. Clement of Alexandria, to quote
but one of the Church Fathers, held a similar opinion of the slaves
of his day; sec The Instructor, iii. 4. The Midrash in our text also
occurs in Jalkut on Gen., § 109, Midrash Abkhir, and in the Midrash
Agadah, Gen. p. 60. Sec alsoRokcach, pp. 54a, b (ist ed.). According to
the Book of Jashar (xxiv. 40) Rebecca was ten years old when wedded to
* Jerome, in loc. knew this Haggadic interpretation, which also
occurs in Onkelos and Pal. Targum, in loc. See Gen. Rab. Ix. 1 .j ;
T.B. Berakhoth, 26b ; cf . Rahmer, Die Hebrdischen Traditionen in den
Werken des Hieronymus (1861), p. 38.
SERVICE OF LOVING-KINDNESS 111
for thee from her mother's womb.^ He brought her into the
tent and examined her tactually, and he showed the result
to Abraham his father, and afterwards he took her to be his
wife, as it is said, "And Isaac brought her into the tent of
Sarah his mother . . . And Isaac was comforted after his
mother's death " (Gen. xxiv. 67) ; ^ for the deeds of Rebecca
were Hke unto those of Sarah. ^ Hence the Israehtes have
the custom of producing the tokens of the damsel's virginity,"*
as it is said, " Then shall the father of the damsel, and her
mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's
virginity " (Dent. xxii. 15).^
The steward of Abraham's household® was his servant
Eliezer, and whence was his servant ? When (Abraham)
went forth from Ur of the Chaldees all the magnates of
the kingdom ' came to give him gifts ; and Nimrod ^ took
his first-born (son) ^ Eliezer and gave him to (Abraham) as
a perpetual slave.
When (Eliezer had thus) dealt kindly with Isaac, he set
him free, and the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him his
reward in this world, so that there should not be a reward
Isaac. Another opinion is to be found in Sopherim xxi. g, and in Seder
'01am Rab. i. p. 4a.
1 The first editions read : " She is thine by the word of the
Almighty." See Midrash Haggadol, c. 373.
2 The last clause of the quotation is not in the first editions.
^ The first editions add : " she was found to be as perfect as Sarah
his mother. 1 ' The king's daughter within is all glorious ' (Ps.
xlv. 13) ; ' And Isaac was comforted after his mother's death ' " (Gen.
xxiv. 67).
* The first editions read : " custom of tactual examination so that
they should not be in doubt, as it is said, ' Then shall the father of
the damsel, and her mother, take' " (Deut. xxii. 15). On the custom see
Miiller's Chiluf Minhagim, p. 37, where it is pointed out that it is a
Palestinian custom. This might point to a Palestinian as the author
of P.R.E., or to Palestine as its home.
^ See the rest of the verse.
* Lit. " The steward of his house (was) the servant of Abraham, for
Eliezer was his servant." Our translation agrees with the text of the
first two editions.
' The first editions read : " All the magnates of the generation arose
and gave him gifts."
* On Nimrod see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 44 f. and 51 ;
J.E. ix. 309; Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, i. pp. 177 ; cf. Augustine,
de Civ. Dei, xvi. 11,3. See also Jerahmeel, s.v. in Index, for references.
The first editions add : " arose and wrote a document transferring his
servant Eliezer to Abraham."
* The rest of the sentence is wanting in the first editions.
^ This is like the reading in the Targumim, Gen, in loc.
112 RABBI ELIEZER
for the wicked in the world to come ; ^ and He raised him to
kingship, and he is Og. king of Bashan.-
Rabbi Jose ^ said : From whom do we learn (that there
should be) seven days of (the wedding) banquet ? ' From our
father Jacob, who || made a banquet with rejoicing for seven
days, and he took Leah (as his ^vife). Again he kept another
seven days of banquet and rejoicing, and took Rachel (as his
wife), as it is said, " And Laban gathered together all the men
of the place, and made a feast " (Gen. xxix. 22). The Holy
One, blessed be He, said to them : Ye have shown loving-
kindness to Jacob, My servant. I will give a reward to your
children, so that there be no reward for the mcked in the world
to come : " Because by him the Lord had given victory unto
Syria" (2 Kings v. 1). From whom do we learn (that there
should be) seven days of banquet ? From Samson the Nazirite
of God, for when he went down to the land of the Philistines,
he took a wife and kept seven days of banquet and re-
joicing, as it is said, " And it came to pass, when they saw
him,'' that they brought thirty companions to be with
him " (Judg. xiv. 11). What were they doing with him ?
They were eating and drinking and rejoicing,^ as it is said,
" And Samson said unto them, Let me now put forth a
riddle unto you" {ihid. 12); and another text says, "They
could not declare the riddle in three days " {ibid. 14)."
The bridegroom is like a king. Just as a king is praised
by everybody,^ so is the bridegroom praised by everybody
(during) the seven days of the feast. Just as a king is
' Eliezer, however, inherited the future world according to the
tradition of some Rabbis ; see Derekh Erez Zutta, i. (end), and
Midrash Agadah, Gen. xxiv. p. 6o.
2 See J .E. V. ii2, Pal. Targum on Gen. xiv. 13, infra, p. 167 ; and
cf. Jalkut on Num. § 765, Gen. Rab. Ix. 2, Deut. Rab.'i. 25, T.B.
Baba Bathra, 58a, T.B. Joma, 28b, and Sopherim xxiv. 9.
•■' The first editions read: " Rabbi " ; i.e. Jehudah i (c. 200 c.E.) ;
see, however, supra in this chapter, p. toy, for a similar text. The
whole of this section till " Syria i2 Kings v. 11 " is wanting in the first
two editions. See supra, p. 107, note 6.
* The custom is clearly indicated in the text Judg. xiv. 10 and 12 ;
cf. Matt. ix. 15, and suprj , p. 107.
* The first editions end the quotation here.
" The first editions read differently : " What is the meaning of
(' when they saw) him ' ? They were eating and drinking with him, as
it is said," etc.
' See Jalkut, in lor.., and Menorath Ha-Maor, i; 173.
* See T.B. Kethuboth, 17a ; and cf. Singer, p. 299 : " The jubilant
voice of bridegrooms from their canopies," and Jcr. xxxiii. 11.
SERVICE OF LOVING-KINDNESS 113
dressed in garments of glory,i so the bridegroom is dressed
in garments of glory.^ Just as a king is rejoicing, with feasts
in his presence, all his days, so 1| the bridegroom is rejoicing
and has feasts before him all the seven days of the banquet.
Just as the king does not go into the market-place alone,
likewise the bridegroom does not go into the market-place
alone.3 Just as the face of a king is shining like the light
of a sun,^ so the face of the bridegroom is shining like the
light of a sun, as it is said, " And he ^ is as a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber,^ and rejoicing to run his course "
(Ps. xix. 5).
1 Cf. Isa. Ixi. lo.
^ The first editions add : " all the seven days of the banquet."
* See Rashi on T.B. Menachoth, 98a, catchword p"i. The mourners
likewise are not permitted to go out alone. The order of the narrative
here is different in the printed texts.
* Ci. Prov. xvi. 15.
* i.e. the sun.
* The MS. ends the quotation here ; the first editions add " etc."
8
CHAPTER XVII
LOVING SERVICE TO MOURNERS [19a. ii.]
Concerning the one who tenders the service of loving-
kindness to mourners.^ Whence do we learn of the service
of loving-kindness to mourners ? ^ From the Omni-
present, who alone showed loving-kindness to Moses, His
servant, and buried him ^ with His own hand. If
this story had not been written (in the Torah) it
would be impossible to say it, as it is said, " And he
buried him in the valley in the land of Moab " (Deut.
xxxiv. 6).'
Rabban Gamaliel,'' the son of R. Jehudah, said : Not to
Moses alone did He show loving-lcindness, but also to
Aaron. For when they "^ went up Mount Hor all the tribes
of Israel were contending and saying, Moses and Eleazar
have left Aaron on Mount Hor and have gone down (by
themselves).' Thej^ did not believe that he was dead.
To show loving-kindness to him, what did the Holy
One, blessed be He, do ? He took Aaron's coffin and
brought it above the camp of Israel, and all Israel saw
* This sentence is missing in the printed editions.
- On mourning customs see Bender's article in J.QR. vi. pp. jiy fif.
and 664 tt., also article in J.E. ix. 101 If.
3 On the death of Moses see Ribbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp.
270-272. The service of loving-kindness to mourners is not proved
from the burial of Moses. See T.B. Sotah, 14a, where the custom is
inferred from the case of Abraham ; cf. T.B. Synhedrin, 46a.
* See T.B. Sotah, 13b, and Siphre. Deut. § ■(57.
* On R. Gamaliel see J .E. v. 560 It. On the theme in our text see
Jalkut, Num. § 787, and cf. Num. Rab. xix. 20.
* Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar. The Gaster MS. 9 begins with the
words " were contending," and continues to the end of the book as in
the printed editions. The text, apari from the inserted and older MS.
section, follows the Venice edition very closely.
' For their own advantage and glory ; see Rabbinic Philosophy and
Ethics on the death of Aaron, pp. 235-238.
LOVING SERVICE TO MOURNERS 115
Aaron's coffin flying and moving in the air.i They then
believed that he was dead, and they showed loving-kindness
to him, as it is said : || " And all the congregation saw that
Aaron was dead " (Num. xx. 29). Only the men ~ showed
loving-kindness to Moses, as it is said, " And the sons of
Israel wept for Moses " (Deut. xxxiv. 8). The men and
the women and the children ^ showed loving-kindness to
Aaron.
Why (was this) ? Because he loved peace and pursued
peace,^ and passed daily through the entire camp of Israel
and promoted peace between a man and his wife, and
between a man and his neighbour ; therefore all Israel
showed loving-kindness to him, as it is said, " And when
all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead,' they wept
for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel " (Num.
XX. 29).^
Rabbi Jose said : From whom do we learn of the seven
days of mourning ? " From Jacob, our father, for thus
did his son Joseph unto him,^ as it is said, " And he made
a mourning for his father seven days " (Gen. 1. 10).^
1 See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 228 ; and for the loving-
kindness see ibid. p. 240. A similar legend as to Mohammed's cof&n
occurs in Arabian literature.
- Not " all the congregation," as at the death of Aaron.
' The first editions omit " and the children."
* See Aboth de R. Nathan (a) xii. pp. 24b ff.
" The first editions insert the quotation, "they wept for Aaron,"
etc., before the paragraph beginning. " Why (was this) ? " The MS.
as well as the first editions do not quote the first part of the verse
(Num. XX. 29).
* The first editions add the following : " This verse 1 is not in its right
place, for at ' Moserah there Aaron died, and there he was buried '
(Deut. X. 6). And the text points to this (place) as though he died
there and was buried there." ^
^ See Gen. Rab. c. 7, andT.B. MdedKatan, 20a; Tanchuma Vajechi.
§ xvii. Cf. T.J. Sotah i. 10, 17c ; Jalkut i. § 161.
* The first editions read : "for Joseph kept for him seven days of
mourning."
* The first editions add the following : " And all the magnates of
the kingdom ^ went up with him, as it is said : ' And there went up
with him both chariots and horsemen' (Gen. I. 9).* The Holy One,
^ The weeping was at Moserah ; see Seder 'Olam Rab. ix., T.J. Joma
i. I, p. 38b, T.J. Sotah i. 10, p. 17c, and Pal. Targumon Deut. x. 6, and cf.
Rashi on Num. xxvi. 13.
* See Num. xxxiii. 38.
3 The Amsterdam edition reads : " the kingdoms."
* The rest of the verse should be considered, " and it was a very
great company " (Gen. 1. 9).
116 RABBI ELIEZER
Whence do we learn (the duty of) showing loving-
kindness to mourners ? From Jezebel, the daughter of
Ethbaal.^ The palace of Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal,
was near the market-place.- When any corpse was carried
through the market-place, she would go forth from her
palace, and she clapped ^ with the palms of her hands and
praised with her mouth, and she followed the corpse ^ ten
steps. Concerning her, Elijah, be he remembered for good,^
prophesied (and said) : " In the portion of Jezreel shall the
dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel " (2 Kings ix. 36). But over
the limbs which were (employed in) showing loving-kind-
ness, the dogs had no power, as it is said, " And they went || to
bury her : but they found no more of her than the skull,
and the feet, and the palms of her hands " {ibid. So).*^
blessed be He, said to them : Ye have shown loving-kindness to Jacob,
My servant,' and I will also give you and your children a good reward
in this world. When the Egyptians died in the (Reed) Sea, they were
not drowned - in the sea, but they were worthy to be buried,^ as it is
said : ' Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed
them ' " (Ex. xv. 12).*
1 See I Kings xvi. 31.
2 Or " street." The basis of this Haggadah is to be sought in
2 Kings ix. 35. The palace was near the city gate which is generally
near the market-place or the " High Street." The first editions add
here : " When any bridegroom happened to pass (her palace) she would
go forth from her palace, and she clapped her hands and praised with
her mouth, and she would go ten steps."
' The first editions read : " And she made a noise by rubbing her
hands, and she bewailed with her mouth." The reading in our MS.
seems to be drawn from the account describing Jezebel's conduct
when she saw bridegrooms.
* The usual distance was four cubits. See Tur, Joreh Diah, § 361 ;
Maimonides, Hilkhoth Abel, xiv. ; and see also T.B. Sotah, 35b and
46b.
* See supra, p. 2. note 8.
* The quotation in the MS. is abbreviated thus : " And they went
to bury her, but they found no more of her than the palms," etc.
See Rashi and Kimchi on 2 Kings ix. 36. On the theme of our text
see Jalkut, 2 Kings ix. (;; 232) ; Menorath Ha-Maor, § 216 ; Kad Ha-
Kemacli, s.v. hix. Tur, Eben Ha- Ezer, 65, quotes the Midrash, as though
the text were " bridegroom and bride," and not merely " bridegroom."
1 See infra, p. 309.
2 See T.B. Pesachim, 117a, and cf. infra, p. 332.
' The bodies of drowned men are liable to be thrown ashore ; they
would lie exposed and remain unburied. God, however, had mercy
on the doomed Egyptians and bade the sea cast up the drowned,
whereupon the earth was constrained to receive the dead, and thus
they were buried. The idea containid in this Midrash is the belief of
the Jew in the dignity of man, created in the image of God.
* See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 169, and cf. infra, pp.
334 f-
LOVING SERVICE TO MOURNERS 117
Whence do we learn (the duty of) showing loving-
kindness to mourners ? From the men of Jabesh-Gilead.
For when Saul and his sons were slain, the men of Jabesh
Gilead said : Are we not bound to show loving-kindness
to the man who delivered us from the disgrace of the sons
of Ammon ? ^ All their mighty men arose and went all
night to the walls of Beth-Shan,^ and they took the body
of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the walls of Beth-
Shan, as it is said, " All the valiant men arose, and took
away the body of Saul " (1 Chron. x. 12).
The mourners are comforted with bread and wine,^ as
it is said, " Give strong drink unto him that is ready to
perish, and wine unto the bitter in soul " (Prov. xxxi. 6).*
The men of Jabesh-Gilead showed (loving-kindness ^) to
Saul and his sons.^ (God said,) I will also give you and your
sons your reward in the future ; for when the Holy One, blessed
be He, in the future will gather Israel from the four corners
of the world, the first whom He will gather, will be the
half-tribe of Manasseh,' as it is said, " Gilead is mine, and
* Cf. I Sam. xi. and see Pseudo-Rashi on i Chron. x. 12. Gilead
was nigh to Benjamin, Saul's tribe ; see Num. Rab. xiv. i.
2 i.e. they came to Beth- Shan at night. Beth- Shan is three
hours' journey from Jabesh-Gilead. The first editions omit the next
clause, and continue : " as it is said."
3 See Semachoth xii. The subject has been dealt with by Perles
in his Leichenfeierlichkeiten im Nachbiblischen Judentum. See J.E.
V. 529 f . and ibid. ix. loi f.
* The first editions omit the first half of the verse. See T.B, 'Erubin,
65a: "wine was only created in order to comfort the mourners."
" Bread " is mentioned in Jer. xvi. 7, Ezek. xxiv. 17, 22. and Hos.
ix. 4, in connection with mourning.
^ The MS. omits " loving-kindness." It occurs in the first editions.
Saul had rescued the men of Jabesh-Gilead from the attack of the
children of Ammon (see also Josh. ii. 12 for the term " dealing kindly ").
The context refers to 2 Sam. ii. 5. Loving-kindness is that extra
service of love which is more than one is in duty bound to do to one's
fellow. The latter sums up one's obligation to any and every human
being, namely, to deal justly and truly with all men, and not to hurt
anyone. Loving service goes beyond this. See Jewish Sources of
the Sermon on the Mount, pp. 97, 104 f.
« The first editions and Jalknt Makhiri, Pss., p. r54b. add: "by
fasting, weeping, and lamentation, * as it is said : ' And they fasted *
seven days ' (i Sam. xxxi. 13). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to
them : In the future."
' In the land of Gilead ; see Siphre, Deut. § 355.
1 The mourning consisted of the three phases enumerated. See
2 Sam. i. II, 12 and Esth. iv. 1-3.
* Fasting was not the usual custom. The rule to fast is limited now
to the anniversary of the day of death of one's father or mother,
118 RABBI ELIEZER
Manasseh is mine " (Ps. Ix. 7). Afterwards (will He
gather in) Ephraim,^ as it is said, " Ephraim is the defence
of mine head " {ibid.). Afterwards Judah (will be gathered
in), as it is said, " Judah is my sceptre " {ibid.).
" Gilead is mine," refers to Ahab, king of Israel, who
died in Ramoth-Gilead ; - " and Manasseh is mine," is to
be taken literally ; " Ephraim is the defence of mine head,"
refers to Jeroboam ; ^ " Judah || is my sceptre," points to
Ahithophel ; ' " Moab is my washpot " {ibid. 8), means
Gehazi ; ■' "upon Edom will I cast my shoe" {ibid.),
refers to Doeg ; ^ " Philistia, shout thou because of me "
{ibid.). The Holy One, blessed be He, said : ' It is for Me
to search for merit on their behalf,** and to make them
friendly towards one another.^
Rabbi Phineas said : Thirty years ^'^ after Saul and his
sons had been killed, a famine lasting three years arose in the
days of David, year after year,^^ as it is said, " And there
was a famine in the days of David three years, year after
year " (2 Sam. xxi. 1). Why was it year after year ? In the
first year all Israel went up to (celebrate the great) festivals.
David said to them : Go and look if perchance there be
among you some who worship idols, for because of the sin of
idolatry rain is withheld, as it is said, " Take heed to your-
selves, lest your heart be deceived, ^^ and ye turn aside, and
' See infra, p. 141. The children of Joseph will be the first to be
redeemed in the future, says the Abkath Rochel, ii. We are now in the
field of Messianic Eschatology.
^ See I Kings xxii. 29 fi.
* He was an Ephraimite ; see i Kings xi. 26. The first editions
add : " the son of Nebat."
' He was of the tribe of Judah ; see 2 Sam. xvii. 15 for the story
of Ahithophel.
•' Gehazi inherited the leprosy of Naaman ; the " washpot " receives
the dirt of the one who washes therein. On Gehazi see J.E. v. 580
and 582, and see Num. Rab. xiv. i.
«"The first editions add : " the Edomite."
' The first editions add : " to them."
* The reading of the Amsterdam edition is : " It is for Me to search
for their merit."
* See T.J. Synhedrin x. 2, 29b and Num. Rab., loc. cit.
'° Jalkut to 2 Sam. xxi. ^ 154 reads like our MS., "After thirty
years"; see Rashi on T.B. jebamoth, 79a. The first editions read:
" In the year after Saul and his sons had been killed."
^^ See T.J. Kiddushin, iv. i, '15b, c. which is the source of our text;
see also T.J. Taanith, iii. 3, o^c, and Num. Rab. viii. 1, and Midrash
Samuel xxviii. 3 ; cf. T.B. jebamoth, ySb.
'* The MS. and the first editions end the quotation here.
LOVING SERVICE TO MOURNERS 119
serve other gods, and worship them " (Dent. xi. 16). What
is written after this ? " And the anger of the Lord will be
kindled against you, and he will shut up the heaven, that
there be no rain " {ibid. 17).^ They went forth and in-
vestigated, but did not find (any idolatry).
In the second year ^ all Israel went up (to celebrate) the
festivals. David said to them : Go forth and see if there be
among you people who lead immoral lives, because OAving to
the sin of immorality the heavens ^ are closed, as it is said,
" And thou hast polluted the land \vith thy whoredoms " *
(Jer. iii. 2). What is written after this in this context ?
" Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there
hath been no latter rain " {ibid. 3). They investigated, but
they did not find (any immoral people).
In the third |! year all Israel went up (to celebrate) the
festivals. David said to them : Go forth and see if there
be among you people who shed blood, because on account of
the sin of those who murder ^ the rain is withheld, as it is
said, "So ye shall not pollute the land ^ wherein ye are ;
for blood, it polluteth the land " (Num. xxxv. 33). They
went forth and investigated, but thej'^ did not find (any
murderer). David said to them : Henceforth the matter
only depends upon me.
David arose and prayed before the Holy One, blessed
be He. And He answered him : It is for Saul ; ' was not
Saul one who was anointed with the oil of consecration ?
and was it not Saul in whose days there was no idolatry in
Israel ? and was it not Saul who secured his portion ^ with
^ The first editions omit from " What is written " to the end of the
quotation.
2 Of the famine.
* The first editions read : " the rain is withheld."
* The first editions continue : " and with thy wickedness."
* The first editions read : " the shedding of blood." Other reasons
for the famine are suggested in T.B. Jebamoth, loc. cit. ; Jalkut, Num.
§ 771 ; Midrash Samuel, in loc. ; and cf. T.J. Kiddushin, loc. cit.
* The MS. and the first editions end the quotation here ; the MS.
adds " etc." Cf. Isa. xxiv. 5.
' See Num. Rab., loc. cit., and Jalkut, 2 Samuel (§ 154). The first
editions read : " David said, Sovereign of the World ! I am not Saul,
for in my days idolatry has not been done in Israel, and I am not
Saul who was anointed with the oil of consecration, and I am not
Saul who quarrelled with Samuel the prophet." This agrees with MS.
Gaster.
* See infra, p. 246, and cf. T.B. Berakhoth, 12b, and Kaphtor Va-
Pherach vii. (ed. Edelmann), p. 21a.
120 RABBI ELIEZER
Samuel the prophet ? Yet ye are in tlie land (of Israel)
and he is (buried) outside the land (of Israel).
David forthwith arose and gathered together all the
elders of Israel and the nobles, and they crossed the Jordan.
They came to Jabesh-Gilead and they found the bones of
Saul and Jonathan his son. No worm ^ had been able to
touch - them, as it is said, " He keepeth all his bones, ^
not one of them is broken " (Ps. xxxiv. 20). They took
the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son, and placed them in a
coffin, and they crossed the Jordan, as it is said, " And they
buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son . . . and
they performed ' all that the king commanded " (2 Sam. xxi.
14). Th(> king commanded that they should bring the coffin
of Saul in all the borders of each tribe. And it came to pass
that the tribe |1 wherein they brought the coffin of Saul, the
people (there) with their wives and their sons and their
daughters came forth and displayed loving-kindness to
Saul and to his sons, so that all Israel should discharge
their obligation of showing loving-kindness. And thus
(did they do) until it came to the border of his posses-
sion to the border of Jerusalem,^ in the land of Benjamin '^
in Jerusalem, as it is said, " And they buried the bones
of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Ben-
jamin " (ibid.),'^ in the vicinity of Jerusalem. When the
Holy One, blessed be He, saw that all Israel had dis-
played loving-kindness (to him ^), He was forthwith full
of compassion, and He sent rain upon the land, as it is
said, " And after that God was intreated for the land "
(ibid.).
* Worms destroy bones as well as flesh. Luria prefers to read napn,
" decay," and not " worm."
* Lit. " to rule over them."
* In spite of the prolonged transportation, the bones were not
broken.
* The printed text and MS. Gaster add, " to them " ; this is not in
the Bible text.
* Luria reads: " the border of his inheritance, to the land of Ben-
jamin"; see Num. Rab., loc. cit. The first editions read: "until it
came to the border of Israel and to the land of Benjamin, as it is
said, ' And they buried him in the border of his inheritance ' "
(Josh. xxiv. 30).
* The text in the printed editions differs here from our reading.
'The quotation continues: "In Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish
his father " (2 Sam, xxi. 14).
« Saul.
LOVING SERVICE TO MOURNERS 121
Rabbi Nathaniel said: Three hundred years ^ before
the birth of Josiah, was his name mentioned,^ as it is said,
" Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David,
Josiah by name " (1 Kings xiii. 2) ; " And he was eight
years old when he began to reign" (2 Kings xxii. 1). What
is the disposition of a lad of eight years of age ? ^ He
despised * the idols and broke in pieces the pillars, and
smashed the images ^ and cut down the groves.^ His
merit was great ' before the ^ Throne of Glory. Because
of the evil which Israel did in secret ^ the righteous one i°
was gathered (to his fathers), as it is said, " For the righteous
is taken away because of the evil " (Isa. Ivii. 1).^^ || All ^-
Judah gathered together also with Jeremiah the prophet
to show loving-kindness to Josiah, as it is said, " And Jere-
miah lamented for Josiah, ^^ and all the singing men and
the singing zvomen spake of Josiah " (2 Chron. xxxv. 25).
Rabbi Meir said: "The singing men" refer to the Levites,
who stood upon the platform^"* singing; " and the singing
women" refer to their wives. Rabbi Simeon said: These
terms do not refer merely to the Levites and their wives ;
but to the skilled women, as it is said, " Thus saith the Lord
^ Between the accession of Jeroboam and Josiah there elapsed
320 years. Josiah was eight years old when he ascended the throne,
so that 312 years elapsed from the accession of Jeroboam to the
birth of Josiah. In round numbers this is 300 years, see infra,
P- 2 33-
2 See infra, p. 233.
3 This refers to 2 Chron. xxxiv. 3 ; see Targum on this text and
also Pseudo-Rashi thereto.
* This is based on Isa. vii. 16.
^ See 2 Chron. xxxiv. 4, 7.
^ See 2 Kings xxiii. 14.
' Lit. shining or illustrious. See T.B. Mo'ed Katan, 25b, where
Amos viii. 8 is applied to Josiah.
* The first editions read : " before the Holy One, blessed be He,
and the Throne of Glory."
' Idolatry was again rife in the homes of the Hebrew people ; see
Lam. Rab. i. (53) and T.B. Ta'anith, 22b.
1" Josiah.
11 This quotation is missing in the printed editions. The R.V.
renders somewhat differently.
12 The first editions read : " All the men of Judah and Jeru-
salem."
^^ The MS. and the first editions end the quotation here, the printed
texts add " etc." The context justifies the insertion of the entire
verse.
1* The first editions read : " their platform." On the meaning of
" Dukhan " see Levy, N.H.W.B. i. 382a.
122 RABBI ELIEZER
of hosts,^ Consider yc, and call for the mourninfi: women, ^
that they may come; and send for tlu- cunning women,
that they may come : and let them make haste, and take
up a wailing for us" (Jer. ix. 17, 18). Hence the wise men
instituted (the rule) that this should be done^ to all the
wise men of Israel and to their great "* men, as it is said,
" And they made them an ordinance in Israel " (2 Chron.
XXXV \ 25).
Solomon saw that the observance ■' of loving-kindness
was great before the Holy One, blessed be He. When he
built the Temple he erected two gates, one for the bride-
grooms, and the other for the mourners and the excom-
municated. On Sabbaths the Israelites went and sat
between those two gates ; and they knew that anyone who
entered through the gate of the bridegrooms •> was a bride-
groom, and they said to him, May He who dwells in this
house cause thee to rejoice v\ith sons and daughters. If
one entered through the gate of the mourners with his upper
lip covered, then they knew that he was a mourner, and
they would say to him. May He who dwells |] in this house
comfort thee. If one entered through the gate of the mourners
without " having his upper lip covered, then they knew that
he was excommunicated, and they would say to him, May
He who dwells in this house « put into thy heart (the
desire) to listen to^ the words of thy associates, and may
He put into the hearts of thy associates that they may draw
thee near (to themselves), so that all Israel may discharge
their duty by rendering the service of loving-kindness.
1 The MS. reads " the Lord." The first editions read according
to the Massoretic text.
2 The MS. ends verse 17 here and continues verse 18. The first
editions end the quotation at the words, " that they may come."
3 The first editions read : " Thus all Lsrael took upon themselves
to show loving-kindness."
* This agrees with Luria's emendation.
^ The first editions read : " the attribute."
* See Sopherim xix. 12 (ed. Miiller, pp. 278 f.) for historical material.
On the "gates" see Middoth ii. 2, and Tamid, 27a, and Kaphtor
Va-Pherach vi. p. i6b. Dr. Biichler has written on the subject of the
gates of the Temple; see J.Q.Ii. x. 678 and xi. pp. 46 ff.
^ The 1st ed. omits the negative.
* The first editions read: "comfort thee." Nachmanides, in his
Torath Ha- A dam (ed. Venice), p. 7, omits these words.
» The first editions omit " the words of." Nachmanides, op. cit.,
agrees with our MS.
LOVING SERVICE TO MOURNERS 123
When the Temple was destroyed, the sages ^ instituted
(the rule) that the bridegrooms and mourners should go
to the synagogues and to the houses of study. The men
of the place see the bridegroom and rejoice with him ; and
they see the mourner and sit with him upon the earth, so
that 2 all the Israelites may discharge their duty in the
service of loving-kindness. With reference to them he^
says : Blessed art Thoii/ who giveth a good reward to those
who show loving-kindness.^
1 Nachmanides [ibid.) reads: "the sages"; see Semachoth vi.
and Middoth (ii. 12). Sopherim, loc. cit.. quotes this rule in the name of
R. Ehezer ben HjTkanos, clearly showing that the compiler of Sopherim
used our book and regarded it as the work of R. Eliezer b. Hyrkanos.
The rule is a Palestinian custom ; see Briill, Jahrbucher, i. p. 30.
2 Nachmanides [ihid.) omits " and they sit," and reads : " all the
Israelites."
3 See for a similar expression, supra, p. 73. It might be that " he "
refers to the one who receives the service of loving-kindness. Perhaps
it merely refers to any Israelite who has to say the benediction. Or,
we might render : "it savs."
* The first editions add : " O Lord."
6 See T.B. Ketliuboth, 8b. The form of the benediction has its
parallel in the Daily Morning Service ; see Singer, p. 7.
CHAPTER XVIIIi
THE CREATION ON THE EVE OF THE SABBATH [21 A. i.]
Ten things were created (on the eve of the Sabbath) in
the t^vihght (namely) : - the mouth of the earth ; ^ the
mouth of the well ; ^ the mouth of the ass ; ^ the rainbow ; '
the Manna ; " the Shamir ; * the shape of the alphabet ; ^
the \^Titing ^° and the tables (of the law) ; ^^ and the ram of
^ In the printed text and MS. Gaster this is ch. xix.
V - The words in brackets are missing in the MS. but they occur in the
first editions and in MS. Gaster.
■' See Num. xvi. 32. For the subject-matter of this paragraph see
Aboth V. 9, with the excellent obserx'ations of Tavlor in his 2nd edition
of Aboth, pp. S3 ff. Our text agrees to a large extent with this Mishnah,
but differs from the version in T.B. Pesachim, 54a ; Siphr§, Deut. § ^55,
Pal. Targum, Num. xxii. 28, Mekhilta, p. 51a, and supra, p. 14. Eight
things enumerated in our context were said (supra, p. 14, note i) to
have been created on the second day. This statement is wanting in our
MS. ; it was inserted for the first time in the second edition of P.R.E.
For the ten things see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 24 f. See
also Lekach Tob, Gen. ii. 3. p. 9a.
* In T.B. Pesachim and Siphre, loc. cit., the " well" only is men-
tioned. The " nwiith of the well" is mentioned in our text and in
Aboth V. 9 ; this may refer to the well of Hagar or Jacob, or the
reference might be to Num. xxi. 16. See infra, pp. 268, 323.
* See Num. xxii. 28.
* See Gen. ix. 13 and J.E. x. 312.
' See Ex. xvi. 15, and Pal. Targ. to Ex. xvi. 4, 15 ; and cf. J .E. viii.
293. The Oxford MS. and MS. Gaster and the first editions add : " the
Rod." See infra, pp. 312 f., and cf. Ex. iv. 17.
^ See I Kings vi. 7 for the information that no tool was used in the
Temple. How then were the stones cut ? The legend says, "By the
worm called Shamir"; see T.B. Gittin, 68a. On the Shamir see J.E.
xi. 229 f. and T.J. Sotah ix. 13, 24b, and T.B. Sotah .^csb. For the
references to the " Ten Marvels " created on the eve of the first Friday,
see Siphre, Deut., loc. cit.
* See supra, p. 14, note 6.
" Interesting material on the Hebrew alphabet is contained in the
Othijoth de R. 'Akiba.
" On the " tables of the Law " in Rabbinical literature see J.E. xi.
662 fi. The "tables" are not mentioned supra, p. 14. note i; see,
however, p. 15.
"»4
CREATION ON EVE OF SABBATH 125
Abraham.^ (Some sages say : the destroying spirits ^
also, and the sepulchre of Moses,^ and the ram of Isaac ;
and other sages say : the tongs also.*)
At the seventh hour (of the day-" on Friday*'), the first
man entered the garden of Eden, and the ministering || angels
were praising before him,' and dancing before him, and
escorting him ^ into the garden of Eden ; and at twilight
at the eve of Sabbath,^ he was driven forth, and he went
out. The ministering angels were crying aloud concern-
ing him, saying to him : " Man ^" in glory tarrieth not over-
night,*^ when he is like the beasts that pass away " ^- (Ps.
xlix. 12).
" Like a beast that passes away " is not written here,
but "like the beasts that pass away," (so) were they both.^^
The Sabbath day arrived and became an advocate ^* for the
first man, and it spake before Him : Sovereign of all worlds !
^ See infra, pp. 2286. The Oxford MS. and MS. Gaster omit this.
The next section in brackets is wanting in our MS. ; it occurs in the
Oxford MS. (O.A. 167), MS. Gaster, and in almost the same reading
in the first editions.
* See supra, p. i 4, note 8 ; and see Gen. Rab. vii. 4 ; and cf. J.E.
iv. 514 ff.
3 See Dent, xxxiv. 6.
* See Taylor, Aboth, p. 86, note 22, and Hoffmann, Mishnajoth,
p. 352, note 37.
* i.e. I o'clock p.m. ; see Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii. 3, p. 202a. This
contradicts the statement in Chapter XI. ; see supra, p. 78.
^ " Of the day on Friday " is missing in our MS., but it occurs in
the 2nd ed., and in the MS. Gaster. This was the day of his creation.
The texi is lit. " eve of the Sabbath."
' See supra, p. 89 ; and cf. Slav. Enoch xxxi., where Adam per-
ceives " the angels singing the song of triumph." Cf. Koran, ed.
Rodwell, igii, p. 341.
* So also in Jubilees iii. 9.
' Friday afternoon between sunset and night ; see also Slav. Enoch
xxxii. 2, which implies that the expulsion of Adam was followed by the
Sabbath. See supra, p. 78.
10 The Hebrew word is also " Adam."
^1 For he did not tarry overnight in his glory in Paradise ; see T.B.
Synhedrin 3Sb.
^■^ i.e. when they were driven forth out of Paradise ; see infra,
p. 143. This Psalm (xlix.) is applied to Adam by our book and by
many Midrashim, see Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii. 3, p. 202b.
1* The point here is the change from the singular to the plural : " they
were like " ; see Gen. Rab. xxi. 7. They {i.e. Adam and Eve) became
like the beasts when they were expelled from Eden ; they had to die
like the beasts. Perhaps the meaning of the Midrash would be better
understood by translating verse 12 of Ps. xlix. thus: "Adam did
not tarry overnight in glory, he was to be likened to the beasts ; yea,
they (Adam and Eve) were to be (thus) compared."
^* See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 74. Cf. infra, pp. 143 f.
126 RABBI ELIEZER
No murderer ^ has been slain in the world during the six
days of creation, and wilt Thou commence (to do this) with
me ? 2 Is this its sanctity, and is this its blessing? as it
is said, " And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed
it " (Gen. ii. 3). By the merit of the Sabbath day Adam
was saved from the judgment of Gehinnom.^ When Adam
perceived the power of the Sabbath, he said : Not for nought
did the Holy One, blessed be He, bless and hallow ^ the
Sabbath day. He began to observe (the Sabbath) ^ and to
utter a psalm for the Sabbath day, and he said : " A psalm,
a song for the Sabbath day" (Ps. xcii. 1).® Rabbi Simeon^
said : The first man said this psalm, and it was forgotten
throughout all the generations until IMoses ^ came and
renewed it || according to his name,^ " A psalm, a song for
the Sabbath day " (ibid.), for the day which is entirely Sabbath
and rest in the life of eternity.^"
" It is good to confess ^^ to the Lord" {ibid.). The first
man said: Let all the generations learn from me,'- that
whosoever sings and utters psalms to the name of the Most
High, and confesses his transgressions in the court of justice ^^
and abandons (them), will be delivered from the judgment
^Perhaps the text should read: "No man has been slain." In
Shocher Tob, loc. cit., the reading is : " No man has been punished."
- On the Sabbath.
* See T.B. Sabbath, ii8a. No mourning is permitted on the
Sabbath, for the dead are not in the power of Gehenna on that
day. For parallel Christian legends see Wisdom, ed. Deaue, p. i6j.
* By showing Divine love and mercy to Adam, the sanctity and the
blessing of the Sabbath were realized by him.
* The first editions read : " to sing."
* According to Shocher Tob, loc. cit., Adam wished to sing hymns to
the Sabbath day : but the latter declined the honour, and told Adam to
join in singing praises to God.
' The first editions read : " Ishmael."
® See Gen. P„;il:,. yv.ii. 13, and Kimchi, Preface to Commentary on
Psalms.
* The first editions omit : " accorJi'^g ^^ his name." See T.B. Baba
Bathra, 14b, for the Mosaic Psalms.
"> This is missing in Shocher Tob, ic?- "^^ ^"^^ Jalkut, Ps. xcii. S S43.
It probably owes its place in our text \-° ^ marginal gloss by some
scribe of our book, being based on the Mish."^^ Tamid (end). See Senior
Sachs' remarks on this passage in Ha-Teckty^' ^- P- ^° (notes).
" R.V. " to give thanks."
^■^ Sec infra, p. 147. The n^ xt clause J^ccurs in our MS. and in the
Oxford MS. only. ^
"The MS. uses here an abbreviatioK """ (Bbd). It does not
occur in any of the printed texts. Thci^^f°'^'^ ^^- leads : "at the
judgment.'
CREATION ON EVE OF SABBATH 127
of Gehinnom,^ as it is said, " It is good to confess to the
Lord " (ibid.).
" To declare thy loving-kindness in the morning " {ibid.
2). Adam said : (This refers to) all who enter this world ^
which is like unto the night ; ^ and to all who come into the
world to come, which is like unto the morning.^ They
shall declare the faithfulness and love of the Holy One,
blessed be He, which He has shown to me,^ (for He has)
delivered me from the judgment of Gehinnom, as it is said,
" To declare thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy
faithfulness every night " (ibid.).
" Upon a ten-stringed instrument and upon the psaltery "
(ibid. 3). All testimonies reliable to Israel are (celebrated)
with ten (males). The harp upon which David played had
ten strings.^ The testimony for the dead is through ten
(males).' The testimony for the (public) benediction of
(God's) Name is through ten (males).^ The testimony of
the covenant of circumcision is through ten (males).^ The
testimony for Chalizah ^° is through ten ' (males),^^ as it
^ Cf. Prov. xxviii. 13. See also Wisdom, x. i, 2.
* The first editions read : " the world to come which is like unto
the morning. ' And thy faithfulness every nighf- ' (Ps. xcii. 2) (refers)
to all who come into this world, which is like unto the night."
^ In Aboth de R. Nathan («) i. p. 4a this is derived from Isa. xxi. 11 :
" Watchman, what of the night ? "
* Cf. the term " Dayspring " applied to the Christian Messiah; see
Hellenism and Christianity, p. 119. Aboth de R. Nathan, loc. cit.,
derives the lesson of our Haggadah from Lam. iii. 23.
* In this world by prolonging my life.
* Luria thinks the reading should be " Nimin " and not " Nebalim " ;
see Targum, in loc, and cf. infra, p. 229.
' To enable the b^Jiediction for the mourners to be recited, ten adult
males are required to form a quorum, see T.B. Kethuboth, 8b, p.nd
Sophcrimx. 8, xix. 12. See T.B. Megillah, 23b; Nachmanides, Torath
Ha-Adam, pp. 40 ff., and Shochcr Tob, loc. cit., p. 203b, note 61, and
Joreh Di'ah, 361. On the Minyan (or ten adult males) see J.E. viii. 603,
and Elbogcn, Der JiXdische Gottesdienst in seiner geschichtlichen
Enfwicklung, p. 493.
^ This refers to the " Bar khu " ; see Singer, pp. 37, 96.
^ See Tur, Joreh Di'ah, 265, quoting Zemach Gaon, who holds that if
the rite can be performed in the presence of ten males it should be done,
but it may be done even if ten be not present. See also Shocher Tob,
Ps. xcii. 7, p. 203b. note 62 ; and Jalkut to Ps. xcii. § 843. Our "text
is referred to by Maharil in his Laws on the rite of Circumcision ; see
also Piske Rikanati, 593.
1° The ceremony of untying and taking off the shoe of a brother-in-
law by the childless sister-in-law who has become a widow, see Deut.
XXV. 5-11, and cf. T.B. Jebamoth, loia, and Eben Ha-'Ezer, § 109, 13,
and Shocher Tob, loc. cit., p. 204a, note 64.
^^ The first editions add here : " The testimony for the benediction
128 RABBI ELIEZER
is said, " And he ^ took ten men of the elders of the city "
(Ruth iv. 2).2
The Holy One, blessed be He, said : I desire of Israel
the meditation of their mouths like ^ the psaltery and an
instrument of ten strings,^ as it is said, " With ^ the medita-
tion of II the harp " (Ps. xeii. 3).
" For thou, O Lord, hast made me glad through thy
work" {ibid. 4). Adam said : The Holy One, blessed be He,
had made me glad and brought me into the garden of Eden,
and showed me the place of the abode of the righteous in the
garden of Eden,^ and He showed me the four kingdoms,^
their rule and their destruction ; ^ and He showed me David,^
the son of Jesse, and his dominion in the future that is to
come.^" I took from my years seventy years ^^ and added
them to his days,^^ as it is said, " Thou wilt add days to the
of marriage is through ten (males)." See T.B. Kethuboth, 8b, for the
custom.
1 The MS. and the first editions read " Boaz," which is not in accord-
ance with the Hebrew text.
^ See Shocher Tob, loc. cit., for the entire passage ; and cf. T.B.
Kethuboth, 7a.
■'' The printed text reads " with," Luria suggests " like " ; see
Jalkut, Ps., loc. cit., and Shocher Tob, in loc, p. 204a.
* The first editions read : " psaltery and harp."
* " With " {'"7]}) is probably to be explained according to the Midrash
as though it meant " it is for Me " ; i.e. My lot is to hear their psalms.
' Slav. Enoch viii. i fi.-ix. i describes the heavenly garden of
Eden : " This place is prepared for the righteous." See Introduction.
' Luria adds in his text : " namely, Babylon, Media, Macedonia, and
Syria." The last name should probably be Edom {i.e. Rome).
* The first editions read : " ruUng and destroying." The Shocher
Tob {in loc), p. 204b, agreeing with our MS., reads : " And He led me
into the garden of Eden and showed me the place of the abode of the
righteous, and He showed me the four kingdoms." The printed editions
omit the passage referring to the abode of the righteous.
• i.e. the Messiah.
1° The Messianic kingdom. This is to be followed by the " Future
World."' The two periods, in contradistinction to the present age, are
often spoken of as " the future that is to come."
" This Haggadic fancy, which occurs in Jubilees iv. 30, was, known to
Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Tryph. Ixx.xi. : " For according to the days of the
tree of life . . . we believe a thousand years to be figuratively ex-
pressed. For as it was said to Adam, ' In the day that he should eat
of the tree, he should surely die ' (Gen. ii. 17), so we know he did not
hve a thousand years. We believe also this expression, ' The day of
the Lord is a thousand years ' (Ps. xc. 4 ; 2 Pet. iii. 8) relates to this."
See also Epistle of Barnabas xv. The origin of the legend is to be
traced to the verse quoted (Ps. Ixi. 6) and the psalmist's interpretation
of man's life which is said to consist of seventy years; see Ps. xc. 10 ;
see also Gen. Rab. xix. 8, and Num. Rab. xiv. 12.
'- i.e. David's life, which lasted seventy years.
CREATION ON EVE OF SABBATH 129
days of the king ; ^ his years shall be as many generations "
{ibid. Ixi. 6). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him :
Thou wilt add days to the days of (the king Messiah) ; I also
will add to his years in the future which is to come, as though
they were many generations, as it is said, " His years shall
be as many generations " (ibid.).^ I have given to God
praise, and song (lauding) His works, as it is said, " I will
sing of the works of thy hands " (ibid. xcii. 4).
" How great are thy works, O Lord ! " {ibid. 5). Adam
began to glorify and to praise the Name of the Most High,
as it is said, " How great are thy works, O Lord ! " {ibid.)
but Thy thoughts are very deep,^ like the great deep ■*
exceedingly (deep), as it is said, " Thy thoughts are very
deep" {ibid.). "A brutish man knoweth not" {ibid. 6).
Every man of Israel ^ who is brutish (in knowledge) and has
not learnt understanding, let the wise men of Israel teach
him the ways of the Torah,^ as it is said, " Consider, ye
brutish among the people " {ibid. xciv. 8).' But a man who
is an expert among the nations of the world ^ is still foolish.
Why ? For he knoweth not the words of the Torah, as it is
said, " Neither doth a fool || understand this"^ {ibid. xcii. 6).
" When the wicked spring up as the grass " {ibid. 7).
True 1" (it is) that Thou, O Lord, beholdest the wicked, that
they are as numerous ^^ as the grass to cover the face of all
the earth,^^ and all the worshippers of idols flourish,^^ (Xhou
1 In the MS. the quotation ends here ; the first editions continue the
verse.
2 This entire sentence is missing in the printed texts.
^ The first editions read : " to the depth of Thy thoughts (is similar
to) the deep (which is) exceedingly deep."
* The deep (Tehom) was held to be unsearchable. See Jobxxxviii.
i6: "Hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?" Cf. T.B.
Pesachim, 54b.
^ The first editions read here : " A man who is brutish among
Israel."
* The first editions read : " teach him understanding."
* This is Israel ; see Jalkut, Ps. § S43.
* The first edition reads : " Expert in faith." The Venice edition has
the same reading as our MS. Paul held the wisdom of the world to be
foolishness be for' God ; see i Cor. iii. 19.
* "This" {?6tk) is interpreted to mean the Torah; seeT.B.'Abodah
Zarah, 2b.
'" The first editions read : " At the time when Thou seest."
11 The ist ed. reads : " who are seen."
^^ Cf. Isa. xxvii. 6.
12 The ist ed. omits from this word till " And he did not say
Hallelujah."
130 RABBI ELIEZER
knowest) that they and their works are an evil iniquity ^
for the days of the Messiah.^ The Holy One, blessed be He,
has only multiplied them in order to destroy them from this
world 3 and from the world to come, as it is said, " To have
them destroyed for ever and ever. And thou, O Lord, art on
high for evermore " {ibid. 7, 8). David saw that the wicked
increased like grass, (so as) to cover the face of all the earth,
and that all the worshippers of idols flourished, and that
they and their works were iniquity, and he did not say " Hal-
lelujah " ("praise ye the Lord") until he perceived that
in the future they would be destroyed froni * this world
and from the world to come ; and he said " Hallelujah," as it
is said, " Sinners shall be consumed out of the earth,^ and
the wicked shall be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise ye the Lord " {ibid. civ. 35).^ (Then will He be)
King exalted ' in the heights and in the depths, as it is
said, " And thou, O Lord, art on high for evermore " {ibid.
xcii. 8).
" For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord " {ibid. 9) ; Israel
said : Sovereign of all worlds ! Thou hast placed all our
enemies over us ^ (to afflict us with) a heavy yoke on our
backs, but we know that they are doomed to destruc-
tion, as it is said, " O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall
perish " ^ {ibid.). And all || idolaters, for they and their
works are iniquity, shallj be scattered like chaff ^^ before
the wind.^^
1 The reading of Shocher Tob {in loc.) is : " an iniquity hidden."
2 The Venice edition adds : " And the wicked, who are as numerous
as grass."
3 In the days of the Messiah. According to the Christian doctrine
of election, very many of the sons of men will be doomed to enter
Hell and to remain there for all eternity. See Matt. vii. 13, xxiii. 33.
and Mark ix. 48.
■• The printed texts omit from " from this world " to " Hallelujah."
* The printed texts omit the rest of the verse.
« See T.B. Bcrakhoth, loa. Note the interpretation given by Beruria,
the wife of Rabbi Meir : " Let sins be consumed out of the earth, and
then there will be no more wicked people." The first edition omits the
next sentence in our text. The Venice edition reads : " Then the Holy
One, blessed be He, (will be) King, exalted."
' MS. reads " Marom," exalted ; the Venice edition reads " Masor,"
which is an error. See Jalkut on Ps. xcii. 8, § 843.
* In Egypt and Babylon.
* See infra, p. 383.
10 Cf. Dan. ii. 35-
" The first editions add : " As it is said, ' All the workers of iniquity
shall be scattered ' " (Ps. xcii. 9).
CREATION ON EVE OF SABBATH 131
" But my horn hast thou exalted like that of the reem " ^
{ibid. 10). Just as the horns of the reem ^ are taller than
those of all beasts and animals,^ and it gores to its right
and to its left, likewise (is it with) Menachem, son of 'Ammiel,
son of Joseph/ his horns are taller than those of all kings,^
and he will gore in the future towards the four corners of
the heavens, and concerning him Moses said this verse,
" His firstling bullock, majesty is his, and his horns are the
horns of the reem : with them he shall gore ® the peoples
all of them, even the ends of the earth " (Deut. xxxiii. 17).
All ' the kings will rise up against him to slay him, as it
is said, " The kings of the earth set themselves, and the
rulers (take counsel together) " (Ps. ii. 2). And Israel
who (will be) in the Land (of Palestine) (will experience)
great trouble,^ but in their troubles they (will be) like a
green olive,^ as it is said, " I am anointed with fresh oil "
{ibid. xcii. 10).io
1 Or " wild-ox." On the re6m see Delitzsch, Babel and Bible (E.T.),
p. 164, where the reem is shown in a beautiful illustration.
2 Lit. " this reem."
^ See Shocher Tob, p. 204a. The Venice edition reads: "of all
animals." This is wanting in the ist ed.
* " Son of Joseph " probably means " of the tribe of Joseph." The
reference to the reem is suggested by the Blessing of the tribe in
Deut. xxxiii. 17. According to the Zohar (Num. p. 173b), Messiah
ben David is Menachem ; this is also the view of the Book of Zerubbabel
(ed. JeUinck, B.H.M. i. 59). Cf. Abkath Rochel ii. ; T.B. Synhedrin,
98b; J.E. viii. 511 f.; and R.iL.J. Lxviii. pp. 135. 150. 'Ammiel ap-
pears to be another form of " Emanuel."
* The Venice edition reads: " all animals." The ist ed. omits the
name of " Menachem, son of 'Ammiel, son of Joseph," and reads instead :
" the son of David."
' The MS. ends quotation here, adding " etc. " The printed texts
conclude the quotation with " re6m."
^ This paragraph occurs in the first editions, but in the Venice
edition it is inserted after the following passage, which is wanting in our
MS. and in the ist ed. : " With him are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and the thousands of Manasseh,^ as it is said, ' And they are the
ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh ' "
(Deut. xxxiii. 17).
* See Pesikta Zutarta, Balak, p. 129b.
* The MS. adds : " I am afflicted " ; it is missing in the printed texts.
lo See Shocher Tob, in loc. The Midrash interprets " I am an-
ointed " as though it were connected with the root " Balah," " to
afflict," cf. I Chron. xvii. 9, and not from " Balal." In the time of
trouble Israel trusts in God and shall be like a green olive tree full of
sap ; cf . Ps. lii. 8 ; T.B. Berakhoth, 35a, and Jalkut, Ps. § 845. Perhaps
^ These tribes are to come with the Messiah ben Joseph to oppose
Gog and Magog ; see supra, pp. ii7f., and Abkath Rochel ii.
132 RABBI ELIEZER
"Mine eyes have looked on mine enemies" {ibid. 11).
The Israelites in the Land (of Israel i) behold the downfall
of their enemies, as it is said, " Mine eyes have looked
on mine enemies" (ibid.). And^ such who in the future
will come against them (Israel), their ears shall hear of their
destruction, as it is said, " INIine ears have heard con-
cerning the evil-doers that rise up against me " {ibid.).
" The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree " {ibid.
12). Just as this palm tree is beautiful in all its appearance,"
and all its fruits are sweet and good,* likewise the son of
David ^ is beautiful in his appearance" and in his glory, and
all his deeds || are good and sweet before the Holy One, blessed
be He, as it is said, " The righteous shall flourish like the
palm tree : he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon " {ibid.).
Just as this cedar has very many roots beneath the earth,
and even if the four winds ' of the world came^ against
it, they could not move it from its place,» as it is said,
" He shah grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They that are
planted in the house of the Lord " {ibid. 12, 13). In the
future when the Holy One, blessed be He, will gather Israel
from the four corners of the world,i" just like this gardener
who transplants ^^ his fir trees from one garden-bed to another
garden-bed, likewise in the future will the Holy One, blessed
our text should be rendered : " But their trouble, being like a green
olive tree, made one distressed " ; or: "But (in) their trouble am I
anointed as with (the oil of) a green olive tree."
1 After the great trouble and misfortunes endured by Israel the
Messianic redemption will take place, and the enemies will be finally
judged. See Jalkut, loc. cit.
2 This paragraph does not occur in the printed editions.
* On the palm tree see Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii. ii. with notes Sy fT.
* See T.B. Kethuboth, lob. The palm branch forms a striking
element in the public entry into Jerusalem by the Founder of
Christianity ; see John xii. 13.
■> This is the Messiah.
« See Ps. xxi. 5 ; and cf. Shocher Tob on Ps. xcu. 11.
' i.e. the winds from all four quarters of the world. Cf. Matt. vii.
24, 25, and Wisdom, iv. 4.
* The first editions add : "to blow."
* The ist ed. agrees here with our MS. The Venice edition
adds: " Likewise (will it be) with the son of David, whose might and
deeds are manifold before the Holy One, blessed be He. Even if all
the nations come against him they will not move him from his place." *
10 So Isaiah (xi. 12) prophesies.
" To improve them.
1 It will be otherwise with the Messiah ben Joseph, who will be
slain in the conflict with Gog and Magog; see Ab^ath Rochel, loc. cit.
CREATION ON EVE OF SABBATH 133
be He, gather them ^ from an impure land and (plant them)
in a pure land,- as it is said, " They that are planted in the
house of the Lord " (ibid.). Like this grass, they shall
blossom and sprout forth in the Temple, as it is said, " In
the courts of our God they shall flourish " (ibid.).
" They shall still bring forth fruit in old age " {ibid. 14).
Just as this ^ old age is glory and honour to old men,^ so
shall they be in glory and honour^ before the Holy One,
blessed be He, as it is said, " They shall be full of sap and
green "^ (ibid.). These are the mighty heroes by reason of
their good deeds, as it is said, " They shall be full of sap
and green, to declare that the Lord is upright " (ibid. 14, 15).
Why all these (statements) ? ' To declare, and to proclaim
clearly the works of the Holy One, blessed be He, for He is
righteous and upright, and that there is no unrighteousness
(in Him), as it is said,^ " And there is no unrighteousness
in him " {ibid, 15).»
* " An unclean land" is expressed by "outside the Land" (of
Palestine) in the Amsterdam ed. Any land outside the " Holy " Land
is held to be unclean in the sense that the Biblical Laws of purity are
not observed therein, such laws being only intended for Palestine ; see
Lev. xviii. 25.
2 See supri. p. 84. Just as Jews consider the soil of Palestine
to be " terra sancta," so the English Church has a preference for
the water of the river Jordan in administering the rite of baptism ; this,
at least, was the case at the baptism of the late King Edward vii.
3 Luria omits the word " this."
* See Prov. xx. 29.
* Cf. Jalkut, loc. cit.
* The next words until " To declare " are missing in the first
editions.
'As to the prosperity of the wicked. The Venice edition reads:
" To declare, to praise," etc.
* The first editions add : " He is my rock."
* On God's justice see Siphre, Deut. § 307.
CHAPTER XIXi
THE SABBATH [22b. ii.J
The School of Shammai said : The heavens ^ were created
first, and the earth afterwards, as it is said,^ " In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. i. 1). The
School of Hillel said : The earth was created first, and the
heavens afterwards, as it is said, "Of old hast thou laid the
foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are the work of
thy hands " (Ps. cii. 25).* The School of Shammai said :
The heavens were created first, and the earth afterwards,
as it is said,^ " These are the generations of the heavens
and of the earth " (Gen. ii. 4). The School of Hillel said :
The earth was created first, and the heavens afterwards,
as it is said, " In the day that the Lord God made earth and
heaven " {ibid.). The School of Shammai said : The heavens
were created first, because it is said, " And the heavens and
the earth were finished " {ibid. 1). The School of Hillel
^ This is ch. xviii. in the printed editions.
* The history' of the creation of man is associated by the Rabbis
with the fundamental law of Jewish ethics, the rule of loving-kindness.
To quote their dictum, " The Torah begins and ends with the service
of loving-kindness" (T.B. Sotah, 14a). The preceding chapters xvi.
and xvii. dealt with the service of loving-kindness, and the ston.' of
the Creation is now resumed.
* The controversy was evoked by the precedence given to heaven
or earth in the texts of Scripture quoted by the different teachers ; see
Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 6 f.
« See T.B. Chagigah. 12a ; T.J. Chagigah ii. i, 77c, d ; Gen. Rab. i.
15 ; Lev. Rab. xxxvi. i ; Midrash on Samuel v. (where the School of
Shammai is represented as expressing the opinions which are else-
where attributed to the School of Hillel) ; and cf. Sepher Ha-Bahir, § 17,
and Bachcr, T. i. 14.
* The first editions quote here Isa. xlviii. 13 : " Yea, mine hand hath
laid the foundation of the earth." The earth is mentioned first in this
verse, and therefore the opinion of the School of Hillel is thereby
substantiated. The "School of Hillel" is the correct reading, as in
our MS. The following passage until " Yea, mine hand " is omitted
in the printed texts.
134
THE SABBATH 135
said : The earth was created first, and the heavens afterwards,
as it is said, " Yea, mine hand hath laid the foundation of
the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens "
(Isa. xlviii. 13). The School of Shammai said : The heavens
were created first, and the earth afterwards, because it is
said, " Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and
the earth is my footstool " {ibid. Ixvi. 1). Contention arose
between them {i.e. the Schools^) on this question, until the
Holy Spirit ^ rested between them, and they both agreed
that both (heavens and earth) were created in one hour and
at one moment.^
What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do ? He put forth
His right hand and stretched forth the heavens, and He
put forth His left hand and founded the earth, as it is said,
" Yea, mine hand \\ hath laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: ^ when I called
unto them, they stood up together " {ibid, xlviii. 13). Both
of them were created simultaneously, as it is said, " And
the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their host "
(Gen. ii. 1).^ And, indeed, were the heavens and the earth
completed (so as not to require God's providence) for their
continued existence and maintenance ? Has it not been
written concerning them, " Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is
my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (Isa. Ixvi. 1)?^
But they were finished with reference to the original deed
(of creation) and with reference to the work (of being created)
and being called into existence. Therefore it is said, " And
the heavens and the earth were finished " (Gen. ii. 1).
Israel spake before the Holy One, blessed be He : Sovereign
of the worlds ! Thou didst complete the heavens and the
earth with reference to being made, created, and called into
existence ; ' let not Thy mercy and loving-kindness be
1 Lit. them.
^ The first editions read " Shekhinah."
* The Zohar, Gen. 17b, has this idea; cf. ibid. 29b. The basis for
this third view is afiforded by the text Isa. xlviii. 13 : " When I called
unto them, they stood up together." The Targum renders this text
thus : " Yea, with my word I completed the earth, and with my power
I expanded the heavens ; I called to them, they stood together."
* The MS. and the printed texts end the quotation here.
* SeeMekhilta, p. la.
* The first editions do not quote this verse, but " Do not I fill heaven
and earth ? " (Jer. xxiii. 24) instead.
' The first editions add : " in the six days of Creation,"
136 RABBI ELIEZER
\vithheld,^ for if Thou withholdcst Thy mercy and loving-
kindness we are unable to exist,- because the world rests
upon Thy mercy and loving-kindness,^ as it is said, " For
the mountains shall depart,' and the hills be removed; but
my kindness shall not depart from thee . . . saith the
Lord that hath mercy on thee" (Isa. liv. 10);'^ and it says
(elsewhere), " Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and
thy loving-kindnesses ; for they have been ever of old "
(Ps. XXV.' 6).«
" And on the seventh day God finished ' his work "
(Gen. ii. 2). The Holy One, blessed be He, created seven
dedications,^ six of them He dedicated, and one is reserved
for the (future) generations. He created the first day
and finished all His work and dedicated it,^ as it is said,
" And it was evening, and it was morning, one day "
{ibid. i. 5). He created the second day and finished all His
* " From us " should probably be added to the text ; cf. Ps. xl. ii.
- Man sins, and therefore needs God's grace and mercy. This idea
is well expressed by the teaching of 4 Ezra vii. 135-1.^7. The Bible
text, "Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses,
for they have been ever of old " (Ps. xxv. 6), is a parallel to our passage ;
cf. Targum of this verse, which renders the last words, " for they have
been from eternity." Cf. Gen. Rab. xxii. i, Jalkut, Ps. § 702, and
Shocher Tob to Ps. xxv. 8, p. 107a, where the question is discussed.
How would mankind have arisen if God had dealt with Adam with
strict justice ? The grace of God was granted to Adam so as to enable
mankind to arise and flourish on earth before the doom of death over-
took him. There may be an attempt here to counteract the un-Jewish
doctrines of the Pauline school, which taught that, owing to Adam's
sin, God's grace was withdrawn, and only through the advent of a
Second Adam (or Christ) could this Divine grace be restored to the
world. The theologians who suggest that Judaism has something to
learn from the Pauline doctrine of grace must be unaware of the Jewish
teaching on this theme.
3 This idea has already been mentioned in our book. See supra,
pp. 7^1, 84, 106.
* The quotation ends here in the first editions, which add " etc. " ;
in the MS. the quotation ends with the words, " be removed."
* God's love and mercy cannot cease, they are eternal attributes.
* This quotation is wanting in the printed texts ; it concludes in
the MS. with the words. " loving-kindnesses." The point in the
quotation lies in the words " ever of old," which might be rendered
" eternal " or " from everlasting."
' " His work " is not in the MS., but is covered by " etc."
of the printed editions. See Pesikta Rabbathi, p. iSjb; Jalkut,
Gen. § 16.
* The six days of Creation were complete, and each day's work had
its dedication. This did not apply to the seventh day ; see T.B.
Sabbath, lib; T.B. Berakhoth, 58b. The Sabbath will only receive
its completion in the future world ; see T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, 31a.
* The reading has its parallel in Menorath Ha-Maor, § 159 (end).
THE SABBATH 137
work and dedicated it, as it is said, |] " And it was evening,
and it was morning, a second day " (ibid^ 8) ; and so through
the six days of creation. He created the seventh day, (but)
not for work, because it is not said in connection therewith,
" And it was evening and it was morning." Why ? For it is
reserved for the generations (to come), as it is said, " And
there shall be one day which is known unto the Lord ; not
day, and not night " (Zech. xiv. 7).^
A parable : To what is this matter to be compared ? To
a man who had precious utensils,- And he did not desire
to give them as an inheritance except to his son ; ^ likewise
with the Holy One, blessed be He. The day of blessing and
holiness ^ which was before Him, He did not desire to give
it as an inheritance except to Israel.^ Know that it is so !
Come and see ! for when the Israelites went forth from
Egypt, ^ whilst yet the Torah had not been given to them.
He gave them the Sabbath as an inheritance. Israel kept
two Sabbaths ' whilst as yet the Torah had not been given
to them, as it is said, " And thou madest known unto them
thy holy Sabbath " ^ (Neh. ix. 14). And afterwards He
gave them the Torah, as it is said, " And commandedst
them commandments, and statutes, and Torah by the hand
of Moses, thy servant " (ibid.).^
The Holy One, blessed be He, observed and sanctified the
' This is the Sabbath day, concerning which " day and
night " are not mentioned in the Creation story. See infra,
p. 14.:;.
2 Cf. Aboth iii. 2^ with reference to the Torah.
' Cf. Mai. iii. 17. The first editions add : " who serves him." God
and His children are referred to by the parable. Every nation is a child
of God, Israel is the son who serves Him. See infra, p. 319, and
Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii. p. 201b, where this Haggadah is used, and as
a parallel see Jubilees ii. 20.
* In Menorath Ha-Maor, loc. cit., "blessing and holiness" occur
instead of " rest and holiness," of the first editions, based on the words
of the Scripture, " He blessed and hallowed " (ct. Ex. xx. 11).
» Cf. Jubilees ii. 18 f.
* According to the Midrash (cf. Book ol Jashar Ixx. 47), the
Sabbath had been given to Israel in Egypt, but not by God. See T.B.
Kiddushin, 41b.
' See Tosaphoth in T.B. Sabbath, 87b, catchword " Just as."
* In the MS. the quotation ends here, in the first editions it is con-
tinued without any interruption.
' This text mentions the Sabbath before the " Commandments,
statutes, and Torah." The Sabbath law is mentioned in Exodus
xvi. 23, in connection with the Manna prior to the revelation at
Sinai.
138 RABBI ELIEZER
Sabbath, 1 and Israel is obliged ^ only to observe and sanctify
the Sabbath. Know that it is so ! Come and see ! for
when He gave them the ^lanna, He gave it to them in the
wilderness during forty years on the six days of creation,^
but on the Sabbath lie did not give (it) || to them. Wilt thou
say that He did not have power enough to give it to them
every day ? * But (the fact was) the Sabbath was before
Him ; therefore He gave to them bread for two days on
the Friday, as it is said, " See, for that the Lord hath
given you the Sabbath,'' therefore he giveth you on the
sixth day the bread of two days " (Ex. xvi. 29). When
the people ® saw^ that Sabbath (was observed) before Him,
they also rested, as it is said, " So the people rested on the
seventh day " {ibid. 30).
" And God blessed the seventh day," and hallowed it "
(Gen. ii. 3). The Holy One, blessed be He, blessed and hallowed
the Sabbath day, and Israel is bound only to keep and to
hallow the Sabbath day.^ Hence they^ said: Whosoever says
the benediction and sanctification over the ^vine on the eves
of Sabbath,^" his days^^ will be increased in this world, and ^^
in the world to come, as it is said, " For by me thy days shall
be multiplied" (Prov. ix. 11) in this world ; " and the years
of thy life shall be increased " (ibid.) in the world to come.
" Ye shall keep the Sabbath,^^ for it is holy unto you "
' See Jubilees ii. i8.'
' See Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii. p. 201b.
' Sunday to Friday, the days of work.
* See Menorath Ha-Maor, loc. cit., which reads, "Lest thou shouldst
say that He had no power to give. He continued to give it (after the
Sabbath)." Another reading is given in Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii., loc. cit.
* In the MS. the quotation ends here, but " etc. " is added ; in the
first editions the verse is continued.
* The first editions read " Israel."
' In the MS. the quotation ends here, but " etc." is added ; the
first editions continue the quotation as in our version.
* See Gen. Rab. xi. 2, and Mekhilta, p. 50b; and see supra, p. 137,
and infra, p. 141.
• The Sages.
1" Friday evenings. See Jubilees ii. 21.
•1 The first editions add : " and years."
'2 Variant readings are given in Menorath Ha-Maor, loc. cit., and
Rokeach, 52. The first editions add here: "And years of life will be given
to him." As we shall see, the phraseology of this reading is borrowed
from Prov. ix. 11, according to the interpretation given in T.B. Synhe-
drin, 38a, and Lev. Rab. xi. i.
" In the MS. the quotation ends here, but the first editions continue
the verse.
THE SABBATH 139
(Ex. xxxi. 14). What is the keeping of the Sabbath ?
Neither to do any work thereon,^ nor to kindle fire thereon,
neither to take forth nor to bring in beyond the Techum
(hmit) 2 of the Sabbath even one foot,^ nor to fetch in his
hand something * which is not his food nor the food for his
cattle.^ This is the keeping of the Sabbath,^ as it is said,
" Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath "
{ibid. 16).
" It' is a sign between me and the children of Israel ^
for ever " {ibid. 17). The Holy One, blessed be He, said :
This (Sabbath) have I given to Israel ^ as a sign between Me ||
and them ; for in the six days of creation I fashioned all
the world, and on the Sabbath I rested, therefore have I
given to Israel the six days of work, and on the Sabbath, a
day^° (for) blessing and sanctification,^i for Me and for
them ; therefore it is said, " Between me and the children
of Israel it is a sign for ever " {ibid.).^^
^ The first editions reverse the order of the clauses, " Not to kindle
fire thereon, nor to do any work thereon." The order in our MS. is based
on the sequence of the texts dealing with the Sabbath commandments
in Ex. xxxi. 14. To kindle fire is prohibited in Ex. xxxv. 3, and in the
previous verse the prohibition to work is set forth ; see Luria's com-
mentary, in loc, where the reading of our MS. had been anticipated.
^ The 2000 spaces or ells from the town, called a Sabbath-journey ;
see Acts i. 12, Jubilees 1. 8, and Zadokite Documents xiii. 7. See
Tosephta Sotah v. 13, p. 303. for a discussion as to whether the Techum
principle is contained in the Torah, and cf. J .E. x. 592.
' See T.B. 'Erubin, 52b.
* Anything not permitted to be used on the Sabbath is called
" Mukzeh."
^ The first editions read after the word " something " : " and
carry it four spaces in a public thoroughfare, and to bring it from one
allotment to another." See J.E. x. 582 on the " four ells " or spaces.
" Reshuth," territory, domain, allotment, one's area or court. See
Baba Kamma iii. i for the different terms in connection with Reshuth ;
see also T.B. Sabbath, 6a, and cf. Jubilees ii. 29 and 1. 8, Zadokite
Documents xiii. 16. The first editions omit the words : " which is not
his food, nor the food for his cattle."
* Trafiicking on the Sabbath was a cause of reproach on the part
of Jeremiah (xvii. 20 tf.) and Nehemiah (xiii. ijff-)- ^^^ ^^^^ °^ ^^^^
sentence is wanting in the first editions.
' The Sabbath.
' The quotation is concluded here in the MS. ; the first editions con-
tinue as in our version.
' " It is a sign " is added here by Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii., loc. cit.
^^ The first editions read : " and the seventh day (for) blessing," etc.
^^ The first editions add : " and rest." Scripture speaks of God
blessing and sanctifying the seventh day (Gen. ii. 3), and resting on
the Sabbath (Ex. xx. 11), "Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath
day and hallowed it " {ihid.). See supra, p. 137, note 4.
12 The first editions omit : " it is a sign for ever."
140 RABBI ELIEZER
The Holy One, blessed be He, created seven ^ firmaments,
and He selected from them all 'Araboth - only for the place
of the throne of glory of His kingdom, as it is said, " Cast
up a highway for him that rideth on the 'Araboth,'* with
Jah, his name " (Ps. Ixviii. 4). The Holy One, blessed be He,
created seven lands,^ and He chose from all of them the
land of Israel only, as it is said, " A land . . . the eyes
of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning
of the year even unto the end of the year " (Deut. xi. 12). -^
Another verse says, " I said, I shall not see the Lord, even
the Lord in the land of the living" (Isa. xxxviii. ll).*' The
Holy One, blessed be He, created seven deserts, and of
them all He chose the desert of Sinai ^ only to give therein
the Torah, as it is said, " The mountain which God hath
desired for his abode " (Ps. Ixviii. 16).
The Holy One, blessed be He, created seven seas,^ and of
' The Sephcr Jezira'i iv. emphasizes the superior nature of the
seventh kind of the various works of Creation ; see also Lev. Rab. xxix.
II ; Num. Rab. iii. 8; Jalkut, Psalms (Ps. cxxxix.), § 888.
2 See T.B. Chagigah, 12b. 'Araboth is the seventh heaven. See also
Hekhaloth iv. and also Maimonides, Guide, i. 70, who quotes our t xt.
The New Testament speaks of the " third heaven " (2 Cor. xii. 2).
See the Apocalype of I'eter on this theme. On the seven heavens
see Slavonic Enoch, pp. xxx ff.
^ R.V. has " deserts." The quotation ends here in our MS., the
printed texts continue the same.
* They are enumerated in Lev. Rab., Iol. tit., cf. Aboth de R.
Nathan (a) xxxvii. p. 5,sb (n. 10) ; see also Midrash, Proverbs viii., where
ten lands are mentioned. Israel passed through seven lands after leaving
Egypt to enter the Holy Land. The lands are : Edom, Amnion, Moab,
Midian, the land of the Amorites, Bashan, and the Holy Land,
which is the seventh land. See also Siphre, Deut. § .1 •, and infra,
p. 167.
* See also Mai. iii. 12, and for the reading of the text see Kaphtor
Va-Pherach x. The latter part of the quotation is wanting in the
first editions. The first editions add the following: "The Holy One,
blessed be He, created seven mountains, ^ and he chose only Mount Sinai
from all of them, as it is said, ' Why look ye askance, ye high moun-
tains, at the mountain^ which God hath desired for his abode} '" (Ps.
Ixviii. 16).
' This quotation is missing in the printed texts of our book.
^ The first editions read " Kadesh." The order of the paragraphs
here in the MS. does not agree with that of the printed editions. In
Jalkut, Ps. Ixviii. § -q(>, the wilderness of Sinai is the "chosen " one ;
this is another name of the wilderness of Kadesh. See T.B. Sabbath, 89a.
* See T.B. Baba Bathra, 74b, and Shocher Tob, Ps. xxiv. 6, p.
103a, notes 23 and 24, which refer to the seven seas in Palestine.
1 See T.B. Megillah, 29a, and infra, p. 318. See also Eth. Enoch
xxxii. I.
* This is interpreted as Sinai ; see Shocher Tob, in he. p. i5yb.
THE SABBATH 141
them all He chose the Sea of Kinnereth ^ only, and gave
it as an inheritance to the tribe of Naphtali,^ as it is said,
" O Naphtali, satisfied with favour,^ and full with the blessing
of the Lord : ^ possess thou the sea and the south " (Deut.
xxxiii. 23). What is the " blessing of the Lord " ? (It
means) that He blessed him and gave him as an inheritance
the sea and the south, as it is said, " Possess thou the sea and
the south " (ibid.).^
The Holy One, blessed be He, created seven aeons, || and
of them all He chose the seventh aeon ^ only ; the six aeons are
for the going in and coming out (of God's creatures) for
war and peace. The seventh aeon is entirely Sabbath and
rest in the life everlasting." Seven lamps were made for the
sanctuary, and the lamp of Sabbath was illuminating opposite
the other six (lamps), as it is said, " In front of the lamp-
stand the seven lamps shall give light " (Num. viii. 2).^ The
Holy One, blessed be He, created seven days, and of them
all He chose the seventh day only, as it is said, " And
God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it " (Gen. ii. 3).^
Everyone ^° who keeps the Sabbath, happy is he in this
world and happy will he be in the world to come,^^ as it
is said, " Happy is the man that doeth this, and the son of
man that holdeth fast by it : who keepeth the Sabbath from
* i.e. the Lake or Sea of Gennesareth.
^ The pre-eminence of Naphtali was due to the fact that the east
side of his territory touched the Sea of Gennesareth and the west side
was on the Mediterranean.
^ i.e. God's favour; see Shocher Tob, Ps. Ixviii. p. iGob.
* The quotation ends here in our MS., in the first editions the verse
is continued.
^ This sentence is not in the printed editions.
* The aeon was a period of looo years. On the Millennium see
Slav. Enoch xxxii. 2-xxxiii. 2, where the eighth day is the day
of rest.
' See supra, p. 126, note 10, and cf. Tanna de be Ehjahu Rab. ii.
p. 6, and Jalkut, Ps. cxxxix. S; 888.
* This sentence is not in the printed editions.
* The printed editions add here : " The Holy One, blessed be He,
created seven years, and of them all He chose the year of release only.
The year of release is every seventh year." See Jalkut, Ps. cxxxix. § 888,
and Lev. Rab., loc. cit.
'" According to T.B. Sabbath, 11 8b, even idolaters will be forgiven ;
see infra, p. i|6. The first editions read: "Everyone who keeps
the Sabbath in this world, the Holy One, blessed be He, will forgive
all his sins."
*^ Cf. Jubilees ii. 2. 8 : " Everj'one who observes it and keeps
Sabbath thereon from all his work will be holy and blessed throughout
all days."
142 RABBI ELIEZER
profaning it " (Isa, Ivi. 2). Do not read " (He who keepeth
the Sabbath)/row profaning^ it," but read " He who keepeth
the Sabbath is pardoned " - concerning all his transgression.^
* Mechallelo (from profaning it).
^ Machnl Id (it is forgiven him). This is a play on the word of the
text of Isa. Ivi. 2. See Tanna de be Elijahu Rab. xxvi. p. 1 ^}.
^ The printed texts read : "to teach (us) that all his transgressions
are forgiven him." The section on the Sabbath in Jubilees ii. 17 ff.
and 1. 6 ff. should be compared with the regulations as to the Sabbath
in our book. There are some striking resemblances as well as con-
siderable points of dissimilarity. Jubilees (ii. 23, 24) connects the
Sabbath with Jacob. Our book refers this institution to Adam ; see
previous chapter, and In trod net ion. _
CHAPTER XX
adam's penitence [24a. i.]
" So he drove out the man " (Gen. iii. 24). Driving out
{i.e.) and he went forth outside the garden of Eden (and
he abode) ^ on Mount Moriah, for the gate of the garden of
Eden is nigh unto Mount Moriah.^ Thence He took him
and thither He made him return to the place whence he
was taken, as it is said, " To till the ground from whence
he was taken " {ibid. 23).^
Rabbi Jehudah said : The Holy One, blessed be He,
kept the Sabbath * first in the heavenly regions, and Adam
kept the || Sabbath first in the lower regions. The Sabbath
day protected him from all evil, and comforted^ him on
^ The MS. does not read : " and he abode." This is the reading of
the first editions. Jalkut, Gen. § 34 (end), adds : "outside the garden of
Eden." The new abode of Adam was near the garden of Eden. The
Midrash appears to understand, Gen. iii. 24, thus : " So he drove out
the man and he dwelt at the east of the garden of Eden." This Haggadic
interpretation already appears in the LXX.
2 See T.B. 'Erubin, 19a. Beth-Shan is described as the door to
Palestine; see J.Q.R. v. p. 14S, where Origen's Midrash about the
garden of Eden being the centre of the world is quoted. As to where
the garden of Eden was believed to be, see Delitzsch, Wo lag das
Paradies, pp. 45 ff.
* Instead of this quotation the first editions cite Gen. ii. 15 : " And
the Lord God took the man," and then they add : " From what place
did He take him ? From the place of the Temple, as it is said : ' To
till the ground from whence he was taken ' " (Gen. iii. 23). ^
* " In the heavens " is also added by Shocher Tob, p. 203a, but
it is wanting in the first editions of our book; see supra, pp. 125 f.
The idea of Sabbath being observed in heaven occurs in Jubilees ii.
18 ; see previous chapter in our book, p. 138.
* See supra, pp. 125 f.
^ Shocher Tob, Ps. xcii. p. 203a, reads : " From the place of the
Sanctuary and thence He restored him to the place whence he
was taken, as it is said, ' To till the ground from whence he
was taken ' " (Gen. iii. 23). j See also Pal. Targ. Gen. ii. 7, and
supra, p. 84.
»43
144 RABBI ELIEZER
account of all the doubts of his heart, as it is said, " In the
multitude of my doubts within me, thy comforts delight my
soul " (Ps. xciv. 19).
Rabbi Joshua ben Korchah said : From the tree under
which they hid themselves,^ they took leaves and sewed
(them), as it is said, " And they sewed fif? leaves together,^
and made themselves aprons" (Gen. iii. 7). Rabbi Eliezer
said : From the skin ^ which the serpent sloughed off, the
Holy One, blessed be He, took * and made coats of glory ^
for Adam and his wife, as it is said, " And the Lord God
made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed
them " {ibid. 21).
At twilight on Saturday ^ (evening), Adam was ^ medi-
tating in his heart and saying : ^ Perhaps the serpent, which
deceived me, will come in the evening,^ and he will bruise
me in the heel. A pillar of fire was sent to him to give
illumination about him and to guard him from all evil.^"
Adam saw the pillar of fire and rejoiced in his heart,^^ and
he put forth his hands ^^ to the light of the fire, and said :
Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe,
who creates the flames of fire.^^ And when he removed
' See the Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) i. xxxvi.
* The MSS. and the first editions conclude the quotation here.
* So also according to Pal. Targ. Gen. iii. 21 ; and cf. supra, p. 09.
* The first editions omit " took."
* In the Torah scroll of Rabbi Meir the reading was " coats of light " ;
see Gen. Rab. xx. 12 and Epstein in Monatsschrift. 18S4. pp. Ji43 fif.
Cf. supra, p. 98, for the skin of nail, as the covering of glory of the
first man.
^ Luria holds that this section is out of place. It should be inserted
in the previous chapter at the point where the Blessing of the Sabbath
occurs. See T.J. Berakhoth viii. (>, 12b, on the day of 36 hours,
during which the light of tlie first Sabbath lasted ; and cf . Shocher Tob,
p. 202b.
' The first editions read : " sitting and meditating."
* The first editions read : " Woe is me, perhaps the serpent which
deceived me on the eve of the Sabbath will come and bruise me in the
heel."
" Oxford MS. (e. 76) reads : " deceived me on the eve (before) the
termination of the Sabbath " will come.
^° See Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) i. xxix., and T.B. ' Abodah
Zarah, 8a.
11 The first editions add : " and he said : Now I know that the
Omnipresent is with me."
>« Oxford MS. (e. 16) reads : " hand."
*' See Singer, p. 216 ; and see T.B. Berakhoth, 52b ; T.B. Pesachim,
53b; T.J. Berakhoth viii. 7. 12c; Gen. Rab. xii. i-; and cf. Shocher
Tob. p. 203a.
ADAM'S PENITENCE 145
his hands * from the Hght of the fire,^ he said : Now I know
that the holy day has been separated from the work day
here below (on earth), for fire may not be kindled on the
Sabbath day ; and in that hour he said : Blessed art Thou,
O Lord our God, King of the universe, who divides || the
holy from the profane,^ the light from the darkness.
Rabbi Mana said : How must * a man say the Hab-
dalah blessing ? (He does this) over the cup of wine,
with the light of fire,^ and he says : Blessed art Thou, O
Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the various
flames of fire ; and when he removes his hand from the fire
(flame) he says : Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who divides
the holy from the profane.
If he have no wine he puts forth his hands ^ towards the
light of the lamp and looks at his nails,' which are whiter
than his body, and he says : Blessed art Thou, O Lord our
God, King of the universe, who creates various flames of fire ;
and when he has removed his hands ^ from the fire, he says :
1 Oxford MS. (e. i6) reads: " hand."
2 Oxford MS. (e. i6) and the first editions read : " from the fire " ;
has our MS. an incorrect reading here ?
* See supra, pp. ij6, 138; and cf. Sepher Ha-Manhig, Hilkhoth
Shabbath, § 67. The next words are not in the first editions.
^ Lit. "is he obhged." Siddur Rab 'Amram, 59b, reads: "How-
is a man obUged (to perform Habdalah) with the cup of wine ? He
brings his hand near to the light of the fire." See also Ravia, ed.
Aptowitzer, p. 131, and Or Zarua, ii. 2^6., § 93. Both hands are to be
stretched forth to the light according to our author and the authorities
quoted (see Sha'are Teshubah, § 102, and Shibbole Ha-Leket (52b),
§ 130). See Siddur R. 'Amram, 59a, for the expression to " look at the
palms"; cf . Ha-Manhig, § 65, p. 34a. This was the custom of R. Natronai.
The Mishnah Berakhoth viii. 6 deals with the necessity of enjoying the
light in order to say the blessing over same ; see T.B. Berakhoth, 53b.
According to our book the custom of looking at the nails is only to
be observed when there is no wine. The Pirke de R. Eliezer seems to
have the same custom here and in reference to rinsing the cup mentioned
infra, p. 146, note 7, as obtained in Sura, and these customs were known
to R. Natronai.
^ The light will enable him to see the wine in the cup, and then
he need not look at his nails, nor put forth his hands to the light ;
for he has already derived some benefit from the light. If he have
no wine, he looks at his nails. On the customs of the Habdalah
see T.B. Berakhoth, 33b and 52b, and T.B. Sabbath, 150b, and J.E. vi.
pp. 118 ff.
* This is according to the reading in our MS. The plural occurs
also in Oxford MS. (e. 76) and the second edition.
' See Sepher Ha-Orah, i. pp. 57 f., notes 13 and 14, and Machzor
Vitry, 117 f.
* The 2nd ed. reads : " hand." This section is wanting in the
ist ed.
10
146 RABBI ELIEZER
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who divides the holy from the
profane.
If he be on a journey,^ he puts forth his hand - to the
light of the stars, which are also fire,^ and says : Blessed
art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates
the various flames of fire. If the heavens be darkened,*
he lifts up a stone outside,^ and says : ^ Blessed art Thou,
O Lord our God, who creates the various flames of fire."
Rabbi Zadok said : Whosoever does not make Habdalah ^
at the termination of Sabbaths, or does not listen to those
who perform the ceremony of Habdalah, will never see a
sign '^ of blessing.^" Everyone who makes Habdalah at
the termination of Sabbaths, or whosoever hears those who
perform the Habdalah, the Holy One, blessed be He, calls
* The first editions read : " If he have no fire."
- Oxford MS. (e. 76) reads : " hands."
* The first editions add : " and he looks at his nails which are
whiter than his body."
* Oxford MS. (e. 76) reads : " darkened with clouds."
* Oxford MS. (e. 7b) and the first editions read : " from the earth,"
and he obtains a spark by striking the two stones together.
* See Friedlander, The Jewish Religion, pp. 254, 340, and 343, for
the rules of the rite. The ist ed. reads : " and he performs the
Habdalah." This is also the reading of the Venice edition, which
adds : " and he says : Blessed (is He) who separates the holy from
the profane."
' The ritual here set forth is not on all fours with the rules
prescribed by the Shulchan 'Arukh. Spices are not mentioned at all.
We should not say the benediction over the light when the light of
the stars is the only light available ; see T.B. Berakhoth, 52b, and Tur,
Orach Chayyim, 296 and 297. The following section occurs in the
MS. Ga--tcr and in the 2nd cd. : " Rabbi Eliezer said : After a
man has drunk the (contents) of the cup of Habdalah, it is a religious
privilege and duty to put a little water in the cup (of wine used at the
Habdalah), and to drink in order to show that the precepts are beloved,^
and what remains of the water in the cup should be put over his eyes.
Why ? Because the Wise Men have said : The (observance of the)
'remnants' left over in connection with a religious act keeps back
punishments."
* The Oxford MS. (e. 76) and the first editions add : "over wine."
' See supra, p. 13S. On the Habdalah see Elbogen, op. cit. pp.
120, 532.
1° SeeT.B.'Erubin, 65a, T.B. Shebu'oth, i8b, and Jalkut, Gen. § 34,
and cf. Siddnr Rab 'Amram, § 40, p. 60a, b. A variant reading is to be
found in Tur, Orach Chayyim, 299.
^ A similar custom still obtains in the Church of England. After
the rite of Communion has been done, the officiating minister pours
water into the chalice, and then drinks the water to prevent the waste
of any drops of the consecrated wine. The custom mentioned by our
text is referred to by the Geonim ; see Siddur Rab Amram, pp.
59a ff., on the Habdalah.
ADAM'S PENITENCE 147
him holy to be His holy treasure, and delivers him
from the affliction of the peoples, as it is said, " And
ye shall be holy unto me : for I the Lord am holy " (Lev.
XX. 26).i II
On the first day of the week ^ he ^ went into the waters
of the upper Gihon ^ until the waters reached up to his
neck, and he fasted seven weeks of days,^ until his body
became like a species of seaweed.*' Adam said before the
Holy One, blessed be He : Sovereign of all worlds ! Remove,
I pray Thee, my sins from me and accept my repentance,
and all the generations will learn that repentance is a
reality.' What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do ?
He put forth His right hand,^ and accepted his repentance,^
and took away from him his sin, as it is said, " I acknow-
ledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid : i"
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord ; and
thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin, Selah " (Ps. xxxii. 5).
Selah^i in this world and Selah in the world to come.
Adam returned i- and meditated in his heart, and said : I
1 In the first editions the latter part of this paragraph reads :
" Everyone who listens to those who perform the Habdalah or whoso-
ever makes the Habdalah over the wine, the Holy One, blessed be He,
acquires him as a treasure, as it is said : ' I have separated you from
the peoples, that ye should be mine ' " (Lev. xx. 26). The Venice
edition adds : " And ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me " (Ex.
xix. 5). This last reading agrees with Oxford MS. (e. 76), which omits
the quotation from Lev. (xx. 26).
- Sunday. On the incident see Israel Levi's article in R£.J . xviii.
pp. 86 ff., where it is suggested that our author has used the Arabic,
Ethiopic, or the Latin version of the Book of Adam and Eve xxxii. -
xxxiv.
' The first editions read : " Adam." See Introduction, p. xlvii.
* i.e. the pool of Siloam ; cf . 2 Chron. xxxii. 30. See Coptic
Apocrypha, p. 245, and cf. Ginzberg, Die Haggada, etc., p. 52.
* i.e. forty-nine days. According to T.B. 'Krubin, i8b, Adam fasted
130 years ; see also ?ohar. Gen. 55a, and T.B. 'Abodah Zarah, 8a.
* The first editions read : " like a sieve." Our MS. agrees here with
the Oxford MS. (e. 76) ; see Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit.
' The first editions add : " and that Thou dost accept the repentance
of the penitent."
^ This expression is peculiar to our book ; it occurs several times,
cf. the legend in the Book of Adam and Eve, in A. and P. ii.
P- 135-
* On Adam's repentance see Tertullian, Against Marcion, ii. 25.
1" The quotation ends here in the MSS. and in the first editions.
" The last word of the previous verse is Selah, and the verse quoted
concludes with Selah. The word is used in the sense of " so be it,"
or perhaps it suggests " pardon " (Selach).
12 The Oxford MSS. and the printed texts read : " sat."
148 RABBI ELIEZER
know that death will remove me ^ (to) " the house appointed
for all living " (Job xxx. 23). Adam said : Whilst I am yet
alive -' I will ^ build for myself a mausoleum to rest therein.^
He planned ^ and built for himself a mausoleum to rest
therein beyond^ Mount Moriah. Adam said: If in the
case of the tables (of stone), just because in the future they
will be written by the finger (of God), the waters of the
Jordan are destined to flee before them ; ' how much more
so will this be the case with my body which His two hands ^
kneaded, and because He breathed into my nostrils the
breath of the spirit of His mouth ? After my death they
will come and take my bones, and they will make them into
an image for idolatry ; ^ but verily I will put || my coffin
deep down beneath the cave and within the cave.^^ There-
fore it is called the Cave of Machpelah, which is a double
cave.i^ There Adam was put and his help-meet,^^ Abraham
and his help-meet, Isaac and his help-meet, Jacob and his
help-meet. Therefore it is called " the city of four "
* The first editions read : "he said : For I have said, ' thou wilt
bring me to death and to the house,' etc." The text of Job xxx. 23
reads : " For I know thou wilt bring," etc. The Oxford MS. (e. 76)
reads : " I know that thou wit bring me to death," etc.
^ The first editions read : " yet in the world."
^ See the Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) 11. ix. for the death
and burial of Adam.
* The first editions add here : " beyond Mount Moriah."
^ The first editions read : " He dug out " ; so also in Oxford MSS.
" Luria reads : " he went beyond Mount Moriah and dug," etc. ; see
Zohar, Gen. 57b, and infra, p. 275.
' In the days of Joshua.
* See supra, pp. 76 f. ; and of. T.B. Ketliuboth, 5a, and Aboth
de R. Nathan («) i. p. 4b. This legend was known lo the Church
Fathers; sec Theophilus, I'o Autolycus, ii. 18.
' Here Adam seems to exercise prophetic powers. This agrees with
the legend in the Recognitions of Clement, i. 47. Is our author attacking
the worship of relics ?
1° Owing to the power inherent in his divinely shaped and fashioned
body, the waters of the Flood would have no power to destroy his
remains ; see T.B. Baba Bathra, 58a, Gen. Rab. xxviii. ;i. The Book of
Jashar iii. 14 refers to the burial of Adam in the " cave." In the Book
of Jubilees viii. 19 the Garden of Eden is facing Mount Zion, i.e. Mount
Moriah. The three things, according to Jubilees vii. 20, which brought
the Flood were, " fornication, uncleanness, and all iniquity." Cf.
T.B. Synhedrin, 74a, for the three cardinal sins, idolatry, immorality,
and murder. For a parallel text with slight variations see Midrash
Haggadol, c. 122.
'1 See T.B. 'Erubin, 53a, and Jalkut. Gen., loc. cit. The legend of
the double cave was known to Jerome ; sec Rahmcr, op. cit. p. 36.
*' On the order of the burials see T.J. Ta'anith iv. 2, 68a; ?ohar.
Num. 164a.
ADAM'S PENITENCE 149
(Kirjath Arba') ; for four pairs (were buried there),^ and
concerning them the verse says, " He entereth into peace ;
they rest in their beds,^ each one that walketh in his up-
rightness " (Isa. Ivii. 2).^
* These words in brackets occur in the Oxford MS. (e. 76). Hip-
polytns {A.N.C.L. vi. p. 491) mentions eight people buried in the cave.
This is another form of the legend of the " four pairs " mentioned in
our text.
2 In the MS. and the Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit., the quotation ends
here ; in the first editions it is continued.
^ See T.B. Kethuboth, 104a. In the first editions instead of help-
meet the names are given, namely, Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.
CHAPTER XXI
CAIN AND ABEL [25a. i.]
" But ^ of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
garden " (Gen. iii. 3). It was taught in a Baraitha,^ Rabbi
Ze'era said : " Of the fruit of the tree "—here " tree " only
means man, who is compared to the tree, as it is said, " For
man is the tree of the field " (Deut. xx. 19). " Which is in
the midst of the garden " — " in the midst of the garden "
is here merely an euphemism.^ " \Miich is in the midst of
the garden "—for " garden " means here merely woman,
who is compared to a garden, as it is said, " A garden shut
up is my sister, a bride " (Cant. iv. 12). Just as with this
garden whatever is sown therein, it produces and brings
forth, so (with) this woman, what seed she receives, she
conceives and bears ^ through sexual intercourse.
(Sammael) riding on the serpent came to her, and she
conceived ; ^ afterwards Adam came to her, and she conceived
1 The first editions begin the chapter with the expression : " It is
written." Our MS. agrees with the Oxford M>S. here.
* " A tannaite tradition not incorporated in the Mishnah," ?ee J .E.
ii. 513. The use of the term 'jn (it was taught in a Baraitha)
in connection with a statement by Rabbi Zt'era (4th cent. c.E.) is
incongruous.
* The first editions read here : " Just as ' in the middle of the body '
(has its imphcation, Ukewise), ' in the midst of the garden' refers to
that which is in the middle of the woman, because ' garden ' means
woman," etc.
* The first editions read "from her husband." This allegorical
interpretation of the Paradise narrative is exceptionally bold. The
Zohar, Gen. 35b, offers a parallel, having used our book as its original ;
see also Nachmanides, Torath Ha-Adam, 102b. The texts (Isa. Ixi.
3, Ix. 21, and xvii. ii) quoted by the Zohar in loc. cit. afford the
scriptural basis for the interpretation in question.
^ The first editions add " Cain." See Jalkut, Gfn. fj 29 and j 3.5, and
Zohar, loc. cit., for the reading : " Satan riding on the serpent." See Pal.
Targ. Gen. iv. i, which has used our author. This Haggadah occurs also
in the Church Father Ephraim (in Gen. vol. i. p. 35) ; he says that the
150
CAIN AND ABEL 151
Abel,^ as it is said, " And Adam knew Eve his wife " (Gen.
iv. 1). What is the meaning of " knew " ? (He knew)
that she had conceived. ^ And she saw his ^ likeness that
it was not of the earthly beings, but of the heavenly beings,
and she prophesied ^ || and said : " I have gotten a man with
the Lord " {ihid.).^
serpent was made to crawl on its belly "for having increased the pangs of
child-bearing, through the seduction of Eve " ; set- also SLivonic Enoch
xxxi. 6. The legend was most probably known to Paul, who refers to
the " serpent " as having " b ?guiled Eve in his craftiness " ; see 2 Cor.
xi. 2. 3, and cf. i Tim. ii. 14, 15; and Protevangelium of James, 13
(A.N.C.L. xvi. p. 8), and cf. 4 Mace, xviii. 8.
^ This agrees witli Luria's emendation, based on the Jalkut, Gen.
§ 35, and Zohar, loc. cit. ; see supra, p. yS.
2 Some of the Haggadic details of this chapter appear in Josephus,
Ant. i. 1.4. For the reading of the text here see Jalkut, loc. cit.
^ Cain's. The Pal. Targum, Gen. iv. i, reads: " And Adam knew
Eve his wife, who was pregnant by the angel Sammael, and she con-
ceived and bare Cain ; and he was like the heavenly beings, and not
like the earthly beings, and she said, I have acquired a man, the angel
of the Lord." Cf. infra, pp. 158 f., and see Zohar, in loc, and Jalkut,
Gen. § 35. See also Vita Adae et Evai xxi. 3, in A. and P. ii.
p. 138.
* The Jalkut, loc. cit., reads: " she understood."
* The Oxford MS. (e. 76) and the first editions insert here the follow-
ing : " Rabbi Ishmael said : From Seth ^ arose and were descended all
the generations of the righteous, and from Cain arose and were descended
all the generations of the wicked, who rebelled and sinned against
Heaven, and said. We do not need the drops of Thy rains, as it is
said, ' Yet they said unto God, Depart from us ' " (Job xxi. 14).-
1 Read Mesheth, " from Seth," instead of Meshom, " thence." See
next chapter for a repetition of this section. The Midrashic interpreta-
tion seems to have been known to Philo, who speaks of Cain as the type
"of folly and impiety" [De Cherub, xx.). See Heb. xi. 4; i John iii.
12 ; Jude 1 1 . On the Cainites see Epiphanius, adv. HcBr. i. 3. 38, i. 7. 5 ;
and irenaeus, adv. Heer. i. xxxi. 1. In Ecclus. xlix. 16, Seth is compared
with Shem as " glorified among men." Josephus, Ant. i. 2. i ff.,
described Abel as " a lover of righteousness " . . . " but Cain was
not only very wicked . . . and it came to pass that the posterity of
Cain became exceeding wicked. . . . Seth became a virtuous man, and
as he was himself of an excellent character so did he leave behind him
(children; who imitated his virtues. All these proved to be of good dis-
positions." Cain is " a son of wrath," according to the Apoc. Mosis 3.
See also the Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Alalan) i. Ixxix. and the Book
of Jubilees iv. 11 ft., xix. 24, on this subject. The Gnostics taught that
" Cain derived his being from the Power above," says Irenaeus, adv.
Hcsr., loc. cit. According to the Gnostics, Eve had several sons,
who were declared to be angels; see Irenaeus, op. cit. i. xxx. 7. On
Sammael or Michael, as the name of the serpent, see Irenaeus, loc. cit. 9.
There are several points of contact in this chapter, as well as in the
preceding chapter, with the doctrines of the Gnostics as set forth in the
writings of Irenaeus. See also Griinbaum, op. cit. pp. 73 if.
^ The Book of Job was frequently used by the Haggadists in their
Midrashim on the Book of Genesis.
152 RABBI ELIEZER
Rabbi Miasha ^ said : Cain was born, and his wife,- his
twin-sister,3 with him.^ Rabbi Simeon^ said to him: Has
it not already been said, " And if a man shall take his
sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and
see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness ; it is a shameful
thing " ? '^ (Lev. xx. 17). From these words know that
there were no other women whom they could marry, and
these were permitted to them, as it is said, " For I have
said. The world shall be built up by love " ' (Ps. Ixxxix. 2).
With love was the world built up before the Torah had been
given. ^ Rabbi Joseph ^ said : Cain and Abel were twins,^"
as it is said, " And she conceived, and bare (with) Cain "
(Gen. iv. 1). At that hour she had an additional capacity
for child-bearing (as it is said), " And she continued to bear
his brother Abel " {ibid. 2).ii
> Oxford MS. (e. 76) reads " Meir " (2nd cent. c.e.). Miasha lived
in the 4th cent. c.e.
* " His wife " does not occur in the first editions.
^ According to the Book of Adam and Eve (cd. Malan) i. Ixxiv.,
Luluwa was the twin-sister of Cain; see Schatzhohle, p. 34, and also the
Book of Jashar i. 12. Oiher references are given by Ginzberg, op. cit.
pp. 60 f .
* The Oxford MS. (e. 76) and the printed editions add : " Abel was
bom, and with him his twin-sister." Her name was Aklima (Book of
Adam and Eve (ed, ?vlalan) i. Ixxv). The first edition differs slightly
in the order of the words here.
^ According to the first editions the name is " Ishmael," who hved
c. 90-135 C.E., and was a contemporary of R. 'Akiba, the teacher of
R. Meir. R. Simeon (? son of Jochai) was also a disciple of R. 'Akiba.
* ^D^, love, permissible or shameful ; see Jalkut, Ps. Ixxxix. § 839.
Our MS. does not give the last few words of the quotation. In the
first editions the quotation ends with the words : " his father's daughter."
In the Oxford MS. (e. 76) the quotation ends with the words : " mother's
daughter."
' The R.V. renders the passage : " Mere}' shall be built up for ever."
* R. Ishmael seems to imply that, prior to the giving of the Law
(Torah), the world's law was based on the impulses of nature and there-
fore immoral. See the Book of Adam and Eve (cd. Malan) 11. vii., as to
the marriage of Adam's son Seth. Epiphanius, op. cit. xxxix. 5, refers
to this subject.
* The Oxford MS. (e. 76) agrees with our MS., but the first editions
read " Jose " — R. Jos4i bar Chalaphta was a pupil of R. "Akiba.
»o See T.B. Synhedrin. 38b ; Aboth d. R. Nathan {a) i. ; Gen. Rab.
xxii. 2. According to the Book of Jashar, loc. cit., " Eve bore two sons
and three daughters." According to this book the union of Adam and
Eve was consummated after the expulsion from Paradise ; see also
Jalkut, Gen. § 15 and § 35, and T.B. Jebamoth, 62a. Josephus says:
" Adam and Eve had two sons . . . they had also daughters " {Ant.
i. 2. i).
" Our MS. agrees with Oxford MS. (e. 76), and partially with the
Oxford MS. (OA. 167). The first editions read: "At that hour she
CAIN AND ABEL 153
Now Cain was a man who loved the ground in order to
sow seed ; and Abel was a man who loved to tend the sheep ;
the one gave of his produce as food for the other, and the
latter gave of his produce as food for his (brother). The
evening of the festival of Passover ^ arrived. Adam called
his sons and said to them : In this (night) in the future
Israel will bring Paschal offerings, bring ye also (offerings)
before your Creator.
(Cain) brought the remnants of his meal of roasted grain,
(and) the seed of flax,^ and Abel brought of the firstlings of
his sheep, and of their fat, he-lambs, which had not been
shorn of their wool.^ The offering of |1 Cain was precluded,*
was debarred from bearing," as it is said, " And she ceased to bear."
Here " Asaph " = to cease. Our text agrees with Pal. Targ. Gen. iv. 2 .
See Gen. Rab. xxii. 3, and cf. the Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan)
I, Ixxv.
^ Our book lays stress on the Passover in contradistinction to
Jubilees, which exalts Pentecost and Tabernacles. Luria argues that
as there was a tradition that the world was created on the ist of Nisan,
Adam was therefore created on the 6th, and " at the end of days " (Gen.
iv. 3) means one week, and these numbers equal thirteen, and after this
day is the 14th, which is the eve of Passover. The offering was brought
on the 14th, and eaten that day at even, which is the beginning of the
15th. On the other hand, according to our book, supra, p. 52, the
creation began on the 25th of Ellul, and Adam was fashioned on the
1st of Tishri ; " at the end of days " would be interpreted as the change
in the seasons from autumn to spring, when the first-fruits would be
brought. Cf. infra, p. 236. Our text is reproduced by Pal. Targ.
Gen. iv. 3, and Midrash Agadah (ed. Bubcr), Gen. p. 10, and see ibid.
note 6.
According to Dr. Biichler {J.Q.R. v. 442), in the first year of the
triennial cycle of reading the Torah, a Palestinian custom, on the first
day of Passover, Gen. iii. 22-iv. 26 was read. Now, the story of
the offering of Cain and Abel occurs in Gen. iv. 3 ff., and would fall
in the Passover week. This explains our text, " the night of the
festival of Passover arrived." See J.E. xii. p. 256a, line 6 ; Gen. iii.,
which is quoted there, should probably be Gen. iv.
Chrysostomus (about 175 c.E.) declared that it was customary to
begin reading from Genesis during Lent, i.e. Nisan. This shows that
the Early Church followed the old Jewish custom of commencing the
reading of the Torah in Nisan, the beginning of the Jewish ecclesi-
astical new year ; see J.E. ibid. p. 257b. For a parallel reading, with
slight variants, see Midrash Haggadol, c. 106 f.
2 In Tanchuma, Bereshith, § ix., we read: "Some sages say. The
remnants of his meal; other sages say, The seed of flax." See 'Arukh
(ed. Kohut) iv. p. 229b; and cf. Zohar, Lev. 87a, where flax is men-
tioned as the offering of Cain.
3 The offering was the first-fruit of the animal and the first shearing
of the wool.
* This is also the reading of Oxford MS. (e. 76). The Oxford MS.
(O.A. 167) and the first editions read " was abhorred " ; cf. Prov.
xxviii. g.
154 RABBI ELIEZER
and the offering of Abel was acceptable, as it is said, " And
the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering " {ibid. 4).
Rabbi Joshua ben Korchah said : The Holy One, blessed
be He, said : Heaven forbid ! Never let the offerings ^ of
Cain and Abel be mixed up (with one another), even in the
weaving of a garment, as it is said, " Thou shalt not wear
a mingled stuff, wool and linen together " (Deut. xxii. 11).
And even if it be combined ^ let it not come upon thee, as
it is said. " Neither shall there come upon thee a garment
of two kinds of stuff mingled together " (Lev. xix. 19).
Rabbi Zadok said : A great hatred ^ entered Cain's heart
against his brother Abel, because his offering had been
accepted.'* Not only (on this account), but also because
Abel's twin-sister was the most beautiful of women, and he
desired her in his heart. Moreover he said : I will slay
Abel my brother, and I will take his twin-sister ^ from him,
as it is said, " And it came to pass when they were in the
field " (Gen. iv. 8).
" In the field " means woman, who is compared to a
field.^ He took the stone and embedded it in the forehead '''
* Wool from Abel's sheep and flax from Cain's ofiEering. The two
combined would come under the prohibition of Sha'atnez fcl. D lu. xxii.
II). Perhaps the prohibition of Kilayim (Lev^ xix. 19) is also intended.
This reference to Adam in connection with Sha'atnez is probably in-
tentional, and is our author's imitation of Jubilees, which also connects
various laws v.ith the Patriarchs. See Tanchuma, B reshith, loc. cit.,
for a variant reading, and cf. 'Arukh, loc. cit., s.v. Kilayim, and see
Maimonides, Guide, iii. 37, and J .E. xi. 212 f.
* The ist ed. reads " embroidered." This agrees with the Oxford
MSS. The 2nd ed. reads " decomposed."
'The Book of Jashar i. i() says: "And Cain was jealous of his
brother on this account." Josephus, Ant., loc. cit., also agrees with
this view. The first editions read : " Envy and a great hatred." The
Oxford MS. (e. 76) reads: " Envy and hatred." Test. XII Pat., Benj.
vii. 5 : " Because forever those who are like unto Cain in envy and
hatred of brethren, shall be punished with the same judgment."
^ This agrees with Jubilees iv. 2; see also Irenseus, adv. Hcsr. iv.
3 (^.A^C.L. V. p. 433).
* In Jubilees iv. 1 the wife of Cain is 'Avan, who was born after
Abel. S-'o Biok of .^(Uim and Five (t-d. Malan) i. Ixxviii.
* The Oxford MS. (e. 76) adds : " as it is said : ' But if a man find
the damsel that is betrothed in the field ' " (Deut. xxii. 25). The first
editions read : " as it is said : ' For man is the tree of the field ' " (Deut.
XX. 19). Man is the tree, woman is the field. This fine figure has a
parallel in Euripides, Ort-stes, ';52ff. Compare our expression,
" Mother Earth."
' The Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) i. Ixxix. states : " And Cain
. . . took a large stone and smote his brother with it upon his head." See
Pal. Targum, Gen. iv. X, which reproduces our text: " he embedded a
CAIN AND ABEL 155
of Abel, and slew him, as it is said, " And Cain rose up
against Abel his brother, and slew him " (ibid.).
Rabbi Jochanan said : Cain did not know that the
secrets are revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He.^
He took the corpse of his brother Abel and hid it in the
field.2 The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him : " Where
is Abel thy brother ? " {ibid. 9). He replied to Him :
Sovereign of the world ! A keeper of vineyard and field
hast Thou made me.'' A keeper of my brother Thou hast
not made me ; as it is said, " Am I my brother's keeper ? "
(ibid.). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him : || " Hast
thou killed, and also taken possession ? " * (1 Kings xxi. 19).
" The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the
ground " (Gen. iv. 10). When Cain heard this word ^ he was
confused. And He cursed him, that he became ^ a wanderer
on the earth because of the shedding of the blood,' and
because of the evil death.
Cain spake before the Holy One, blessed be He : Sovereign
of all the worlds ! " My sin is too great to be borne "
{ibid. 13), for it has no atonement.* This utterance was
stone in his forehead and slew him." The Book of Jashar i. 2^ speaks
of " the iron part of the ploughing instrument with which he suddenly
smote his brother." See also Book of the B^e, p. 26.
^ Jubilees (iv. 6) states, in connection with Cain's crime, that " we
'announce when we come before the Lord our God, all the sin which is
committed in heaven and on earth, and in light and in darkness, and
everywhere. The ist eds., Oxford MS. (e. 76) and Gaster MS. add :
" What did he do ? "
^ The Oxford MS. (e. 76) reads : " he dug in the earth and hid (or
buried) it." The first editions have almost the same reading. Accord-
ing to our book there was apparently no actual burial by Cain, this
was done bv Adam and Eve ; see infra in this chapter. See Tanchuma,
loc. cit., and Jalkut, Gen. § 38. Our Midrash was known to Jerome,
Ep. ad Dam. 125. See Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan), loc. cit.
According to the Book of Jashar, loc. cit., " Cain rose up and dug a hole
in the field, wherein he put the body of his brother, and he turned the
dust over him." Ginzberg, op. cit. p. 66, note 2, deals with this
theme ; see also Griinbaum, op. cit. pp. 83 f .
^ Abel's flocks would not be in the fields or vineyards of Cain, and
therefore, in the ordinary course of events, he would not have known
the whereabouts of his brother.
* " Hast thou taken possession" of thy brother? (i.e. his wife and
his flock). The later editions read : "I have also heard."
" See T.B. Synhedrin, 37a, b.
^ The first editions read : " that he should be."
' Almost a literal quotation from Jubilees iv. 4, surely this must be
something more than a mere coincidence.
" Luria suggests that the last words might be read as a question :
" Is there no atonement for it ? "
156 KABBI ELIEZER
reckoned to him as repentance,^ as it is said, " And Cain
said unto the Lord, My sin is too great to be borne " (ibid.) ;
further, Cain said before the Holy One, blessed be He : Now
will a certain righteous one ^ arise on the earth and
mention Thy great Name against me and slay me.^ What
did the Holy One, blessed be He, do ? He took one letter
from the twenty-two letters,"* and put (it) upon Cain's arm ^
that he should not be killed, as it is said, " And the Lord
appointed a sign for Cain " {ibid. 15). The dog ^ which was
guarding Abel's flock also guarded ^ his corpse '^ from all
the beasts of the field and all the fowl of the heavens.^
Adam and his helpmate were sitting and weeping and
mourning ^° for him, and they did not know what to do (with
Abel), for they were unaccustomed to burial. A raven ^^
(came), one of its fellow birds was dead (at its side). (The
raven) said : I will teach this man what to do. It took its
fellow and dug in the earth, hid it and buried it before
them. Adam said : Like this raven will I act. He took || the
corpse of Abel and dug in the earth and buried it. The
Holy One, blessed be He, gave a good reward to the ravens
in this world. What reward did He give them ? When
they bear their young and see that they are white ^^ they
fly from them, thinking that they are the offspring of a
serpent, and the Holy One, blessed be He, gives them their
sustenance ^^ without lack, as it is said, " Who provideth
1 Cf. T.B. Synhedrin, loib, and Lev. Rab. x. 5.
2 See Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit., and Jalkut Makhiri, Ps. cxlvii. ])p- 143a, b.
^ By mentioning God's name, see J.Q.R. v. p. 409, and cf. infra,
* The first editions add : " which are in the Torah and wrote (it)."
See Zohar, Gen. 36b. Most of this chapter has close parallels in the
Zohar. See also Pal. Targum, in loc.
^ In Pal. Targum. in loc, "Upon the face of Cain" is the reading.
The sign of the Tephillin is placed on the forehead and on the left arm.
See also Ezek. ix. 4, 6, and Othijoth de R. 'Akiba, ch. i. Cf. Rashi on
Gen. iv. 15, and Midrash Agadah, Gen. p. 12.
* See Job XXX. i. A parallel text occurs in Midrash Haggadol, c. irGf.
" This contradicts the earlier stor>' of Abel being buried by Cain.
** Jubilees iv. 7 says : " Adam and his wife mourned for Abel."
^ See Book of Adam and Eve (od. Malan) 11. i.
*" For the phraseology see Neh. i. 4. The legend occurs also in the
Koran, Sura w
" Tanchuma, loc. cit., reads : " Two clean birds " ; cf. Gen. Rab. xxii.
8. See Midrash Haggadol, c. 116.
1- See Jalkut to Job. J? 925 ; cf . T.B. Kethuboth, 49b.
*' See Tanchuma, 'Ekeb, § li. In the first editions the quotation
from Job is not given.
CAIN AND ABEL 157
for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God,
and wander for lack of meat " (Job xxxviii. 41). Moreover,
that rain should be given ^ upon the earth (for their sakes),
and the Holy One, blessed be He, answers them, as it is
said, " He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young
ravens which cry " (Ps. cxlvii. 9).^
1 The first editions read : " they cry that rain should be given."
- The previous verse of the Psalm speaks of rain. See also Jalkut
Makhiri, in loc, p. 143b. The Midrash Haggadol, c. 117, gives this
verse as Ps. cxliv. 9. This is a printer's error for Ps. cxlvii. 9. It adds
Job xxxviii. 41.
CHAPTER XXII
THE FALL OF THE ANGELS [26a. i.]
" And * Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and he
begat in his own Hkeness after his image " (Gen. v, 3).
Hcnee thou mayest learn that Cain was not of Adam's
seed," nor after his likeness, nor after his image.^ (Adam
did not beget in his own image) '* until Seth was born, who
was ^ after his father Adam's likeness and image,*^ as it is said,
"And he begat in his own likeness, after his image " (ibid.).
Rabbi Simeon ' said : From Seth arose and were de-
scended ^ all the generations of the righteous.'' From
1 The first editions read : " It is written : ' And Adam,' " etc.
-See supra, pp. 150+., for tlie statement that Cain was the off-
spring of Eve and Sammael. The Scripture text seems to have afforded
ground lor the distinction which the Rabbi.s and otliers drew between
Cain and Seth : " And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and
bare Cain, and she said, I have acquired a man (child) from the Lord "
(Gen. iv. i). Concerning Abel the Bible states, " And she continued
to bare his brother Abel" (ibid. 2), without adding any further
qualification as in the case of Cain. With reference to Seth the text
says, " And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and he begat in
his own likeness after his image, and he called his name Seth " (ibid. v. 3).
The fifth chapter of Genesis begins afresh the history of Adam's off-
spring, but omits all reference to Cain, who.se descendants are men-
tioned in ch. iv. The Pal. Targum to Gen. v. 3 adds : " but before
Eve had borne Cain, who was not like to him " (i.e. Adam).
^ The words " likeness and image " are not mentioned in the story
of Cain's birth. The first editions add : " neither did his deeds resemble
those of Abel his brother." Cain inherited the nature of Sammael,
the angel of Death, and became a murderer.
* The words in brackets are not in the text.
* The first editions add : " of his seed."
* The first editions add : " and his deeds were similar to those of Abel
his brother."
' The first editions read : " Ishmael." Our MS. agrees with the
Midrash Haggadol, c. 117, and the O.xford MS. (O.A. 167). Dr. Biichler
observes: "Also in the text of the Talmud Ishmael and Simeon are
very irequently interchanged."
* The first editions add : " all the creatures."
' See i-upya, p. 151, note 5 , for this paragraph. There is probably .some
confusion in the texts here. " The generations of the righteous" are
xs8
THE FALL OF THE ANGELS 159
Cain arose and were descended all the generations of
the wicked, who rebel ^ and sin, who rebelled against
their Rock,^ and they said : We do not need the
drops of Thy rain,^ neither to walk in Thy ways, as it
is said. " Yet they said unto God, Depart from us "
(Job xxi. 14).
Rabbi Meir said : || The generations of Cain went about
stark naked,^ men and women, just like the beasts,'^ and
they defiled themselves with all kinds of immorality,
a man with his mother or his daughter, or the wife of
his brother,^ or the wife of his neighbour, in public ^
and in the streets, with evil inclination which is in the
thought of their heart,® as it is said, " And the Lord
the offspring of Seth mentioned in Gen. v. ; and " the generations of
the wicked " are the offspring of Cain enumerated in Gen. iv. See
Zohar, Gen. 35b, and Gen. Rab. xxiii. i. Pal. Targum to Gen., loc. cit.,
adds : " And Cain was cast out ; neither is his seed enumerated in the
' Book of the generations of Adam.' "
1 The expression is based on Ezek. xx. 38.
^ Cf . infra, p. 341. The expression is often used to denote
God as Creator. The first editions read : " The Omnipresent." The
Oxford MS. (O.A. 167) and the Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit., read :
" their Creator."
3 Cf. Job xxiv. 13. The Midrash apphes this chapter of Job to the
generation of the Flood. See Gjh. Rab. xx::i. 2.
* Pal. Targum on Gen. vi. 2 says : " And the sons of the great saw
that the daughters of men were beautiful . . . walking with naked
flesh " ; cf. Job xxiv. 10, and Griinbaum, op. cit. pp. 75 ff-
* See Jubilees iii. 30, 31 and cf. ibid. vii. 16, for a strong protest
against nudity. See also Jalkut, Deut. § 945 ; and cf . Briill, Trachten
der Juden, pp. 4 ff. The fact that our book protests so strongly against
the immodest vogue which probably obtained at the period and in the
.place where the author lived might point to the " origin " of our book,
if we could only locate the fact referred to. One is apt to think of the
vagaries of certain classes of recluses who belonged to the Christian
Church and led solitary lives in the deserts of Egypc. Thus, in the
Paradise of the Holy Fathers (ed. Budge, vol. i. p. 242), we read of the
Abba Bessarion, who " wandered hither and thither like one possessed ;
in the season of frost he went naked." In the Jalkut quoted above,
the passage states (on the text, Deut. xxxii. 21, " They have moved me
to jealousy with that which is not God") : " this refers to those who
come from Barbary (or Mauretania) who walk naked in the street " See
also Siphre, Deut. § 320. Have we an echo of the warnings against
incest referred to in Jubilees xxxiii. 10 ff.? and cf. ibid. xli. 25-26.
See also Schatzhohlc, pp. 1 4 f .
* For Ribbinic references to the subject see T.B. Synhedrin, 58a;
and cf. T.B. Jebamoth, 63b. See also T.J. Jebamoth xi. i. iid, Gen.
Rab. xviii. 5, and Siphra, Kedoshim x. 11.
' See Zohar, Gen. 6ob. The first editions omit : " or the wife of his
neighbour " ; they read : "in secret and in pubhc with evil inclina-
tion," etc.
« Cf. Gen. vi. 5.
160 RABBI ELIEZER
saw that the wickedness of man was great ^ in the earth "
(Gen. vi. 5).
Rabbi said : The angels who fell "^ from their holy
place in heaven saw the daughters of the generations of
Cain ^ walking about naked, with their eyes painted ^
like harlots, and they went astray after them,^ and took
wives from amongst them, as it is said, " And the sons
of Elohim " saw the daughters of men that they were
fair ; and they took them wives of all that they chose " '
{ibid. 2).
Rabbi Joshua ® said : The angels arc flaming fire, as it
is said, " His servants are a flaming fire " (Ps. civ. 4), and
fire came with the coition of flesh and blood, but did not
burn the body ; ^ but when they fell from heaven, from their
holy place, their strength and stature (became) like that
of the sons of men, and their frame was (made of) clods of
dust, as it is said, " My flesh is clothed with worms and
clods of dust " (Job vii. 5).
Rabbi Zadok said : From them were born the giants
* The quotation ends here. The first editions continue as in our
version. "Rabbi" mentioned in the next paragraph is R. Jehudah,
the Prince.
-These "fallen angels" were called Nephilim (the fallen ones).
"Giants" is the usual rendering of this term. On the angels, cf.
supra, pp. 46, 99; and infra, pp. i93f. These angels who fell from
heaven are not mentioned by name in our book, but they are named
Shemchazai and Uzziel in Pal. Targum to Gen. vi. 4, and also in the
Azazel Midrash in Jellinek's B.H.M. iv. pp. 127 f. ; see Jcrahmocl, pp.
53 ft., also Deut. Rab. xi. 9, and Zohar, Gen. 46b, 47a. The source of
the legend is the Book of Enoch; sec Introduction. On the names of
the angels, see Briill, Jahrbiicher filr Jiid. Gesch. i. 147 f., where the
reference to our text must be corrected.
3 See Nachmanides (in Gen. in he), who quotes our text.
* See Pal. Targum, Gen. \i. 2 ; and cf. Gen. Rab. xxvi. 7, and Jalkut,
Gen. § 44, quoting Midrash Abkhir.
^ See Pal. Targum in loc; and cf. Tanna de be Elijahu Rab. xxxi.
p. 158.
* The R.V. renders, " the sons of God." The Targum gives " the
sons of the nobles " (or the " mighty ") in the sense of " angels."
Our MS. quotes the second half of this verse only, the first editions
quote the first half of the verse.
' The Pal. Targum renders : " And they took to themselves wives of
all who pleased them."
* The first editions add : " ben Korchah."
* Cf. Paul's expression, " burned in their lust one toward another"
(Rom. i. 27). On the " sin of the angels," see the Book of Adam and
Eve (cd. Malan) in. iv., which gives a very interesting version, denying
the possibility of " angels . . . committing sin with human beings " ;
and see Recognitions of Clement, iv. 26, and Methodius, Discourse on
the Resurrection, vii.
THE FALL OF THE ANGELS 161
(Anakim),^ who walked with pride in their heart,^ and who
stretched forth their hand to all (kinds of) robbery and
violence, and shedding of blood,^ as it is said, " And there
we saw the Nephilim,^ the sons of Anak " (Num. xiii. 33) ;
and it says, " The Nephilim were on the earth in those
days " (Gen. vi. 4).
Rabbi Joshua ^ said : || The Israelites are called " Sons
of God," ^ as it is said, " Ye are the sons of the Lord your
God " (Deut. xiv. 1). The angels are called " Sons of God,"
as it is said, " When the morning stars sang together, and
all the sons of God shouted for joy " (Job xxxviii. 7) ; ' and
whilst they were still in their holy place in heaven, these
were called " Sons of God," as it is said, " And also after
that, when ^ the sons of God came in unto the daughters of
men, and they bare children to them ; the same became the
mighty men, which were of old, men of renown " (Gen. vi.
4).«
Rabbi Levi said : They bare their sons and increased
and multiplied ^° like a great reptile, six children at each
birth.i^ In that very hour they ^^ stood on their feet, and
spoke the holy language, and danced before them like
sheep, as it is said, " They cast their young like sheep, and
their children danced " (Job xxi. 11).
Noah ^^ said to them : Turn from your ways and evil
1 On the Anakim "giants" see T.B. Sotah, 34b, and Gen. Rab.,
loc. cit.
* The first editions read : " with high stature." Cf . Wisdom xiv. 6.
^ Cf. Job xxiv. 14.
* See supra, p. luo, note 2.
* First editions add : " ben Korchah."
•On "Sons of God" in Gen. vi. 2 see LXX, Aquila, and Pesh. ;
and Philo, de Gisant. 2, i. M. i. 263, C.W. ii. off. p. 44, and other refer-
ences given by Charles on Jubilees v. i. See also Wisdom ii. 13, 15.
' See Jubilees V. i. The LXX version of Job xxxviii. 7 is interesting
as a parallel to our author's interpretation of the " sons of God." " When
the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice." See
also the Targum to Job in loc.
* The MS. and the first editions give only part of the verse.
* The angels whilst in heaven were the sons of " Elohim " ; when they
fell and sinned they lost their right to this designation. Men may
rise by virtue and hohness and become worthy of being called " the
sons of Elohim."
1" See Gen. Rab. xxxvi. i and Lev. Rab. v. i. Luria holds that this
dictum of R. Levi has been interpolated here from Gen. Rab. loc. cit.
^1 See infra, p. 1 74 ; and cf . T.B. Berakhoth, 6a.
1^ The offspring.
^' The Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan), loc. cit., offers a close
parallel : " But Noah preached repeatedly to the children of Cain, saying,
II
162 RABBI ELIEZER
deeds, so that He bring not upon you the waters of the
Flood, and destroy all the seed of the children of men.^
They said to him : Behold, we will restrain ourselves from
multiplying and increasing, so as not to produce the off-
spring of the children of men. What did they do ? When
they came to their wives they spilled the issue of their seed
upon the earth - so as not to produce offspring of the children
of men, as it is said, " And God saw the earth, and behold
it was spilled " (Gen. vi. 12). They said : If He bring
from heaven the waters of the Flood upon us, behold, we
are of high stature, and the waters will not reach || up to our
necks ; ^ and if He bring the waters of the depths against
us, behold, the soles of our feet can close up all the depths.
What did they do ? They put forth the soles of their
feet, and closed up all the depths."* What did the Holy One,
blessed be He, do ? He heated the waters of the deep,
and they arose and burnt their flesh, and peeled off their
skin from them, as it is said, " What time they wax warm,
they vanish ; when it is hot, they are consumed out of their
place " (Job vi. 17). Do not read thus (" When it is hot,"
1»n3), but (read) " in his hot waters " (VD^Dn3).5
' The flood will come and destroy you, if we do not repent.' But they
would not hearken to him ; they onlj' laughed at him." See also Gen.
Rab. XXX. 7, Tanna de be Elijahu Rab. xv. p. 74, the Book of Jashar v.
22 ff., Midrash Agadah, Gen. p. iS, and T.B. Synhedrin, io8b. See also
Ephraim, on the Repentance of Nineveh (E.T. p. 34), for the refusal of
the people to repent at the bidding of Noah. The Church Fathers speak
of Noah as a preacher. See Methodius, Banquet of Ten Virgins, x. 3.
and cf. Hippolytus, A.N.C.L. vi. pp. 492 f.
* See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 39 f ., and Wisdom x. 4.
*Thc Oxford MS. (O.A. 167) reads: "And the Holy One, blessed
be He, saw that they had corrupted their way." See R.V. Gen. vi. 12.
^ " Water up to the neck " is an expression of extreme peril ; cf.
Isa. viii. 8, xxx. 28 ; Ps. Ixix. 2.
* See Pal. Targum on Gen. vii. 10, T.B. Synhedrin, loc. cit., and
infra, p. 167.
" The Hebrew could be interpreted as meaning " anger." The
later editions add : " The Parashah (Portion) of Bereshith (Gen. i.
i-vi. 8) is completed." These words are highly significant. They seem
to indicate that our book was intended originally to be a Midrash
on the Torah, and as it is now preserved it is but a fragment of
what it might have been. The " Portion " of Genesis is not to be
identified with the " Book " of Genesis. The question of the triennial
cycle of reading the Torah must also be borne in mind in dealing with
our book. Tlie narrative dealing with the Adam 1. gends recurs three
times: (i) Chapters IH.-V., (2) Chapters XI.-XIV., and (3) Chapters
XVIII.-XXII. Thus far in the first twenty-two chapters of the book
we have only covered the first six chapters of Genesis. The first two
THE FALL OF THE ANGELS 163
chapters were biographical, and apart from them, the actual Midrash
of twenty chapters may be subdivided as follows :
III.-V. Creation.
VI. -VIII. Astronomy.
IX. Ritual.
X. Jonah.
XI. Creation Story resumed.
XII. -XIV. Adam and Eve and Sammael.
XV. Ethical matter.
XVI. Abraham, Isaac, Eliezer, and Rebecca, and Wedding
Customs.
XVII. Mourning Rites.
XVIII. Adam.
XIX.-XX. Sabbath.
XXI.-XXII. Cain, Abel, and the Fall of the Angels.
Chapters XVI. and XVII. seem out of place in this scheme.
A considerable portion of this chapter and the one following occurs
in the Midrash Haggadol. Several parallels are to be found in Leljarli
Tob, Midrash Agadah, and Aggadath Bereshith.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE ARK AND THE FLOOD [26b. ii.]
" And this is how thou shalt make the ark " ^ (Gen. vi. 15).
R. Shemiah taught : The Holy One, blessed be He, showed
Noah with a finger ~ and said to him. Like this and that
shalt thou do to the ark. One hundred and fifty rooms ^
were along the length at the left ^ side of the ark, thirty-
three ^ rooms across the width in the side within,^ and thirty-
three rooms in the side across the width on the outside ; '
and ten compartments in the centre, which were for the
storerooms for the food.^ And there were five protected
cisterns ^ on the right side of the ark, and fifty ^^ protected
cisterns on the left side of the ark, and the openings for the
water pipes opened and closed, and so was it in the lowest
* The Scripture text reads " it," referring to the ark. See J.E.
s.v. Noah, Ark, Deluge ; the Pal. Targum has undoubtedly used
our Midrash in the paraphrase of the Noah narrative (Gen. vi.-vii.).
The subject has been dealt with by Griinbaum, op. cit. pp. 79 ff., and
by Ginzberg, op. cit. pp. 39 fi., 79 ff., 87.
* See uifra, pp. 382 f., and T.B. Menachoth, 29a, Mekhilta, p. 2b,
Tosaphoth to T.B Chullin, 42a, and Midiash Haggadol, c. 148.
^ Lit. " nests " or " cells " ; see Pal. Targum, Gen. vi. 1 5 , and Book
of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) iii. ii., for a parallel tradition.
* The first editions read : " right side of the ark, and one hundred
and fifty along the left side." MS. Gaster reads : " One hundred rooms
along tlic right side," etc.
* Pal. Targum. loc. cit., has : " thirty-six in the middle." Ginsburger,
Pseudo-Jonathan, in loc, reads: "thirty-three."
* Where the entrance was, i.e. on the east of the ark.
' Luria suggests that " within " may refer to the east, and " the
outside " to the west.
* See Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan), loc. cit., for a parallel, and
cf. Hippolyius, A.N.C.L. vi. p. 491.
» nvc!:BN = nv:p'iS!< (puteana), enclosures surrounding a well ; see Book
of Adam and Eve, loc. cit. : " line the well with lead." This word occurs
in the Pal. Targum, loc. cit.
'• The printed editions read : " five."
164
THE ARK AND THE FLOOD 165
division ; ^ and so |j on the second floor, and so on the third
floor.2
The dwelHng-place of all the cattle and animals ^ was in
the lowest compartment, the dwelling-place for all fowl was
in the second compartment, and the dwelling-place for the
reptiles ^ and the human beings was in the third compart-
ment.^ Hence thou mayest learn ^ that there were 366 kinds
of cattle on the earth, and 366 kinds of fowl on the earth,
and 366 kinds of reptiles on the earth, for thus was (the
number) in the lowest compartment,' so in the second
compartment, and so in the third floor, as it is said, " With
lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it " {ibid.
16).
Rabbi Tachanah ^ said : Noah made the ark during fifty-
two years,^ so that they should repent of their ways.^° But
they did not repent. Whilst yet the Flood had not come,
the unclean (animals) were more numerous than the clean
(animals). But when the waters of the Flood came, and
1 i.e. the hold.
2 Cf. Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan), loc. cit.
2 See T.B. Synhedrin, io8b. A parallel to our Midrash is to be
found in Hippolytus in A.N.C.L. vi., loc. cit., and sec German edition
(Achelis), p. SS. Schatzhohle, p. 17, has also a parallel.
* The first editions add: " and creeping things."
^ Cf. Book of Adam and Eve, loc. cit.
* Cf . Luria's reading, which agrees with the tradition preserved in
Midrash Konen, B.H.M. ii. 3<) ; cf. LekachTob, Gen. p. 39. According
to Luria the text should be : " Hence thou mayest learn, that all the
kinds of fowl on the earth equal 365 ; and likewise with the kinds of
reptiles on the earth, and so with the kinds of cattle and animals on
the earth." The first editions read : " 32 kinds of fowl on the earth,
365 kinds of reptiles on the earth."
' 366 rooms. This number is found thus : 150 on the right.
150 on the left.
33 " within."
33 " without."
366
Does this number refer to the 366 days of our author's solar year ?
Noah was in the ark one solar year.
* The first editions read: " Tanchuma."
* According to the Book of Jashar v. 34 Noah took five years to
build the ark ; see A.N.C.L. xviii. p. 344.
*" The first editions add : " and evil deeds," but omit : " But they
did not repent." See the Book of Adam and Eve, loc. cit. The same
tradition occurs in the writings of several of the Church Fathers :
Theophilus of Antioch (To Autolyctts, in. 19), Ephraim of Syria (on
Jonah, 13) ; Revelation of Paul, A.N.C.L. xvi. p. 491 ; and Book of
the Bee, p. 31 ; see also supra, pp. 161 f.
166 RABBI ELIEZER
the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to increase the clean
and to diminish the unclean (animals), He called to Noah
and said to him : Take to thee into the ark of all clean
beasts seven and seven, ^ the male and his female ; and of
the unclean beasts two and two, the male and his female,
as it is said, " Of every || clean beast thou shalt take to
thee 2 seven and seven, the male and his female ; and of
the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female "
{ibid. vii. 2),
Noah said to the Holy One, blessed be He : Sovereign of
all the world ! Have I then the strength to collect them unto
me to the ark ? The angels appointed over each kind
went down and gathered them,^ and with them all their
food unto him to the ark. They came to him of their
own accord,* as it is said, " And they came unto Noah
into the ark " {ibid. 9) ; they came by themselves. " And
they brought (them) to Noah " is not written here, but,
" And they came unto Noah into the ark." ^
Rabbi Mana said : When all the creatures had entered
(the ark), the Holy One, blessed be He, closed and sealed ^
with His hand the gate ' of the ark, as it is said, " And the
Lord shut him in " {ibid. 16).
Rabbi Meir said : One pearl was suspended in the ark,
and shed light upon all the creatures in the ark, like a lamp
which gives light ^ inside ^ the house, and like the sun
1 The first editions end the paragraph here.
* The quotation ends here in the MS., which adds " etc."
' The Book of Adam and Eve (cd. Malan) iii. viii. says : " My power
shall go with it (the trumpet blast) to make it come into the ears of
the beasts and the birds. ... I will command my angel to blow the
horn from heaven, and all these animals shall be gathered unto thee."
Cf. Pal. Targum on Gen. vi. 20 : " they shall enter to thee by the hand
of the angel, who will take and cause them to enter to thee."
* This is not in the printed texts. For a similar legend see Gen. Rab.
xxxii. 4 and 5, and cf. Ephraim, Sermon on Repentance i. t,.
* This sentence is not in the printed texts. In the previous sentence
the first editions read : " ' And Noah brought ' is not written in the
Scripture, but ' And they came unto Noah.' "
' The same expression occurs in the Book of Adam and Eve (cd.
Malan) in. ix.
' Or, " door."
* See Pal. Targum, tw/oc; T.B. Synhedrin, /oc.cii. ; Jalljcut.Gen., inloc;
Gen. Rab. xxxi. 11, which has a different version as compared with the
Talmudic version of the legend. According to the Midrash it is Rabbi Levi
who gives the tradition. Cf. Leljach Tob, in loc, and supra, p. 21.
* The first editions read : " by its power, as it is said : ' A light
shalt thou make,' " etc.
THE ARK AND THE FLOOD 167
yonder which shines in his might, as it is said, " A Hght shalt
thou make to the ark " {ibid. vi. 16).
Rabbi Zadok said : On the 10th of Marcheshvan all the
creatures entered the ark ; on the 17th of the same ^ (month)
the waters of the Flood descended from heaven upon the
earth, for they were the waters (endowed with the) male
(principle). And there came up the waters of the depths,
for they are the waters (endowed) with the female (prin-
ciple),^ and they were joined with one another, and they
prevailed so as to destroy |I the world,^ as it is said, " And
the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth " {ibid.
vii. 19).
And all living things which were upon the face of the
earth decayed,^ as it is said, " And every living thing was
destroyed which was upon the face of the ground " {ibid.
23), except Noah and those who were with him in the ark,
as it is said, " And Noah only was left, and they that
were with him in the ark " {ibid.), except Og,^ king of
Bashan, who sat down on a piece of wood under the gutter ^
of the ark. He swore to Noah and to his sons that he
would be their servant for ever.'' What did Noah do ?
He bored an aperture in the ark, and he put (through it) his
food daily for him, and he also was left, as it is said, " For
only Og, king of Bashan, remained of the remnant of the
giants " (Deut. iii. 11).
(The Flood was universal) except in the land of Israel,^
upon which the water of the Flood did not descend from
^ See Pal. Targum, Gen. vii. 1 1 ; and compare our text with the Scrip-
ture text. See also T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, iib; Seder 'Olam Rab. iv.
p. loa, note 17. Rabbi Eliezer held the view that the world was created
in EUul and Adam in Tishri.
^ See supra, p. 30 ; T.J. Berakhoth ix. 3. 14a, and Eth. Enoch liv. <S.
The rain from heaven is the male principle.
^ The living creatures in the world.
* The first editions read : " were destroyed."
* See T.B. Niddah, 6ia, and Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 267.
The Midrashic interpretation of the word " Rephaim " (Deut. iii. 1 1) gave
rise to this legend. See Job xxvi. 5, sttpra, p. 112, and infra, p. 253.
The legend which connects Og with the " Palit " is ignored by our book,
which identifies Og with EUezer, the servant of Abraham. The " Paht "
is identified with Michael, see infra, pp. 193 f. ; and cf. J.E. ix. 388, and
Griinbaum, op. cit. p. 80.
* The first editions read : " On a rung of (one of) the ladders."
' See supra, p. 112.
* See T.B. Zebachim, 113a; Nachmanides in his commentary on
Gen., in loc, and 3 Baruch iv. 10.
168 RABBI ELIEZER
heaven, but the waters were gathered together from all
lands, and they entered therein, as it is said, " Son of
man, say unto her. Thou art a land that is not cleansed, nor
rained upon, in the day of indignation " ^ (Ezek. xxii. 2i).
He 2 sent forth the raven to ascertain what was (the state
of) the world. It went and found a carcase of a man cast
upon the summit of a mountain, ^ and it settled thereon
for its food,* and it did not return with its message to its
sender, as it is said, " And he sent forth the raven "
(Gen. viii. 7). He sent forth the do\ e to see what was
(the state of) the world, and she brought back her message
to her sender, as it is said. " And the dove came in to
him at eventide," and, lo, in her mouth an olive leaf pluekt
off " '^ {ibid. 11). And why in her mouth was an olive leaf
pluekt off ? II The dove spake before the Holy One,
blessed be He, saying : Sovereign of all worlds ! Let my
food be bitter like this olive, and let it be entrusted '
to Thy hand, and let it not be sweet (even) as honey, and
given by the hand of flesh and blood. ^ Hence they » said :
He who sends a message by the hand of an unclean (messen-
ger) 1" is (like) sending by the hand of a fool, and he who
sends a message by the hands of a clean (messenger) is like
sending by the hand of a messenger faithful to his senders."
Rabbi Zadok said : For twelve 12 months all the creatures
> The land in thr- text is interpreted by the Midrash as referring
to the Holy Land at the time of the Flood.
- i.e. Noah. The first editions read : " Noah."
^ Lit. " upon the tops of the mountains."
* Cf. the interpretation of Job xxiv. 20, in G'=-n. Rnb. .xxxiii. 5.
*The MS. ends the quotation at "eventide." The first editions
continue the verse. Pal. Targum, Gen. viii. 11, reads: "And the
dove came to him at the evening time, and behold, a leaf of olive
gathered, broken off, she brought in her mouth, and which she had
taken from the mount of Ohves." Palestine had escaped the deluge.
See Seder 'Olam Rab. iv. p. lob. note 27, and Tosaphoth lo'Erubin i8b.
« Cf. the R.V.
' The first editions read : " and given by Thy hand."
•Cf. Gen. Rab. xxxiii. 6; T.B. Synhedrin, io8b ; and Rabbinic
Philosophy and Ethics, p. 41. See also Revelation of Paul, loc. cit.
• The sages of Israel.
'° Later editions read: "evil." The raven was " unclean," whilst
the dove was a " clean " bird ; see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics,
pp. 40 f .
»' Cf. Prov. XXV. 13 for a similar expression ; see Jalkut, Gen. § 58 ;
Aboth de R. Nathan '17) xxxiv. p. 51b.
»= See Mishnah'Edujoth ii.; and Scder'Olam Rab. iv.i>.<)h. The Flood
began on the 17th of Marcheshvan, and on the 27th of this month, a
THE ARK AND THE FLOOD 169
were in the ark; and Noah stood and prayed before the
Holy One, blessed be He, saying before Him : ^ Sovereign
of all worlds ! Bring me forth from this prison, for my soul
is faint, because of the stench ^ of lions.^ Through me will
all the righteous crown Thee with a crown of sovereignty,*
because Thou hast brought me forth from this prison, as
it is said, " Bring my soul out of prison,^ that I may give
thanks unto thy name : for the righteous shall crown me,
when thou wilt have dealt bountifully with me " (Ps, cxlii. 7).^
Rabbi Levitas, a man of Jamnia, said : He separated the
males from the females of all which came to the ark ' when
they came into the ark, as it is said, " And Noah went in,
and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives " (Gen. vii. 7).
Verily the males were on one side.^ When they went forth
from the ark. He caused the males to be joined with the
females, as it is said, " Go forth of the ark, thou, and
thy wife,^ and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee "
(ibid. viii. 16). Verily a man with his wife (went forth),
" Thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee"^° (ibid.) \\ He
blessed them, that they might increase and multiply on the
earth, as it is said, " And God blessed Noah and his sons,^^
year later, Noah was released. This period lasted one year and eleven
days, i.e. one lunar year plus eleven days, which is the duration of a
solar year.
1 See th'? fine prayer in the Book of Jashar \'i. 31. which has used our
P.R.E. See Tanchuma, Noah § ix. The basis of the prayer here is
probably Isa. xlix. 9.
2 Luria suggests that the text should read: " the dread."
' The first editions add : " bears and leopards."
* The story of Noah forms part of the " ?ichronoth" in the Syna-
,c;oguc liturgy for the New Year. For another explanation see Tanchuma,
Gen., loc. cit. See Introduction.
* In the MS. the quotation ends here ; the first editions continue
the verse.
* See the Book of Jashar vi. 36.
' The first editions omit : " when they came into the ark." See the
Book of Adam and Eve fed. Malan) iii. vii. f. ; T.J. Ta'anith i. b. 64d ;
T.B. Synhedrin, loc. cit. ; Gen. Rab. xxxi. 12. The Church has in some
quarters to this day retained the custom of separating the sexes at
Divine worship. For other references see Ginzberg, op. cit. p. 82, who
quotes Origen and Ephraim.
* The first editions add : " And the females were on the other side."
The legend occurs also in Hippolytus (ed. Achelis), G.T., loc. cit.
' The MSS. end the quotation here : the first editions continue the
verse.
" Cf . Luria's reading.
" The MS. ends the quotation here ; the first editions continue the
verse till the word " multiply."
170 RABBI ELIEZER
and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
the earth " {ibid. ix. 1). The sons of Noah were fruitful and
multiplied, and they begat sons with their twins with thcni.^
Noah found a vine whieh was lying there,- whieh had
come out of the garden of Eden.^ It had its clusters with
it, and he took of its fruit and ate, and rejoiced in his heart,^
as it is said, " My wine, which cheercth God and man "
(Judg. ix. 13). He planted a vineyard with it. On the
selfsame day it produced and became ripe ^ with its fruits,
as it is said, " In the day of thy planting thou dost make
it grow,'' and in the morning thou makest thy seed to
blossom " (Isa. xvii, 11)." He drank wine thereof, and he
became exposed in the midst of the tent, as it is said,
" And he drank of the wine, and was drunken ; and he was
uncovered within his tent " (Gen. ix. 21).*^ Canaan entered
and saw the nakedness of Noah, and he bound a thread
(where the mark of) the Covenant ^ was, and emasculated
him. He went forth and told his brethren. Ham entered
and saw his nakedness. He did not take to heart the duty
of honouring (one's father ^°). But he ^^ told his two brothers
in the market,^- making sport ^'^ of liis father. His two
' This sentence does not occur in the printed editions. See
Midiasli Haggadol, c. 105.
' The first editions read: " which had been cast forth."
^ Pal. Targum, G:n. ix. 20, reads: "And he found a vine which
the river had brought away from the i^arden of Eden." Apparently
our ^Nlidrash wishes to connect the folly of Noah with the sin of Adam ;
see Siphre, Deut. § 323. Cf. T.B. Synhedrin, 70a, Gen. Kab. xxxvi. 3,
and ^ohar, Gen. 73a. See 3 Baruch iv. 10 ff.
* The first editions read : " and he desired them in his heart." The
quotation which follows in our text is omitted by the printed editions.
* The 1st ed. and several later editions read : " its fruits ripened."
* The quotation ends here in the MS. and first editions.
" Note the preceding verse in Isaiah. See Rabbinic Philosophy and
Ethics, p. 43.
* The quotation does not occur in the printed editions of our book.
* i.e. Circumcision. The legend that Noah was an eunuch occurs
also in Theophilus of Antioch (To Autolycus, iii. 19). Sec aha Zohar,
Gen. 73b, and Griinbaum, op. cit. p. 86.
1° bur MS. reads : " the duty (or precept) of ' Honour '" (Ex. xx. 12).
Some editions (Amsterdam) add: "and mother." See Book of Adam
and Eve (cd. Malan) iii. xiii. According to Luria the text should con-
tinue: "therefore was he cursed by being called a slave"; see
Tanchuma, cd. Bubtr, Gen. 2.\h.
" The first editions read : " He went forth and told."
*' So also the Targumim, in loc. Perhaps the translation should
be "outside."
" See Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Tryph. cxxxix. ; " who mocked at his
father's nakedness."
THE ARK AND THE FLOOD 171
brothers rebuked him. What did they do ? They took
the curtain of the east ^ with them, and they went back-
wards and covered - the nakedness of their father, as it
is said, " And Shem and Japheth took a garment,^ and
laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and
covered the nakedness of their father ; and their faces
were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness "
{ibid. 23).
Noah awoke from his wine, and he knew what the
younger son of Ham had done unto him, and he cursed him,^
as it is said, " And he said, Cursed be Canaan " {ibid.
25). Noah sat and mused in his heart, saying : The Holy
One, blessed be He, delivered me || from the waters of the
Flood, and brought me forth from that prison, and am
I not obliged to bring before Thee a sacrifice and burnt
offerings ? ^ What did Noah do ? He took from the clean ^
animals an ox and a sheep,' and from all the clean birds,
a turtle-dove and pigeons ; and he built up the first altar
upon which Cain and Abel ^ had brought offerings, and he
brought four burnt offerings, as it is said, " And Noah
builded an altar unto the Lord ; and took of every ^ clean
beast, and of every clean fowl, and he offered burnt offerings
on the altar " {ibid. viii. 20). It is written here only, " and
he offered burnt offerings on the altar," and the sweet
savour ascended before the Holy One, blessed be He, and ^°
it was pleasing to Him, as it is said, " And the Lord smelled
the sweet savour " {ibid. 21). What did the Holy One,
1 Or "veil of the east," the veil or curtain used to shield one
from the heat and glare of the sun. The 2nd ed. reads : " the
cover."
* See Midrash Agadah, Gen. p. 23, note 16.
* The quotation ends here in the MS. and first editions.
* See Gen. Rab., loc. cit., and Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Tvyph., loc. cii. ;
for other references to Church Fathers see Ginzberg, op. cit. p. 86.
° See ?ohar, Gen. 70a. There is considerable agreement between
the Zohar and P.R.E. in this and the next chapter.
* See Book of Adam and Eve (ed. Malan) in. xi.
' The first editions add : " and a goat."
* Pal. Targum, Gen. viii. 20, reads : " And Noah built an altar before
the Lord ; that altar which Adam had built at the time when he was
cast forth from the garden of Eden, and had offered an offering upon
it ; and upon it had Cain and Abel offered their offerings." Cf . also
T.B. Zebachim, 115b, and Gen. Rab. xxxiv. 9,
" The quotation ends here in the MS.
"The first editions add: "as it is said, 'and he offered burnt
offerings on the altar ' " (Gen. viii. 20).
172 RABBI ELIEZER
blessed be He, do ? He put forth His right hand, and
swore to Noah ^ that He would not - bring the waters of the
Flood upon the earth, as it is said, " For this is as the waters
of Noah unto me ; for as I have sworn ^ that the waters
of Noah should no more go over the earth " (Isa. liv. 9).
And He gave a sign in the rainbow as a sign of the covenant
of the oath between Himself and the people, as it is said,
" I do set my bow in the cloud,^ and it shall be for a token
of a covenant " (Gen. ix. 13).
And thus our sages instituted ^ that they should (mention) ^
the oath to Noah every day, as it is said, " That j^our days
may be multiplied, and the days of your children, upon
the land ' which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give
them, as the days of the heavens above the earth " (Deut.
xi. 21).
Noah brought his sons and his grandsons, and he blessed
them with their (several) settlements,^ and he gave them
as an inheritance all the earth.^ He especially blessed ^^
Shem and his sons, (making them) dark but comely,^^ and
he gave them the habitable earth.^^ jje blessed Ham and
* See infra, pp. 335, 347 ; and cf. Tanchuma, Noah § xi.
* The first editions add here: " again."
^ The quotation ends here in the MS. and the first editions, which
add : " etc."
* In the MS. the quotation ends here ; it is continued in the first
editions.
* See T.B. Berakhoth, 13a, for the daily recital of the story of the
Exodus. The Scripture passage quoted occurs in the second section
of the " Shema " ; see Singer, p. 41. The ritual question involved
here is interesting, because the actual narrative of the oath to Noah
is not recited daily. The verse quoted as a reason for this institution
continues, after the word " land," thus: " which the Lord sware unto
your fathers to give them." This was not the oath to Noah. See
Eth. Enoch Iv. 2.
* The MS. omits " mention " ; it occurs in the first editions.
' The first editions end the quotation here ; in the MS. the last word
quoted is " children." In the printed texts this quotation is the con-
clusion of the chapter. Our MS. continues with a section which forms
part of chapter xxiv. in the printed editions.
* The first editions read : " gifts."
' The division of the earth among the sons of Noah is also men-
tioned by Jubilees viii. 10, and was known to the Church Father,
Epiphanius (G.T. pp. 217 ff.).
'" The verb is repeated.
" Cf. Cant. i. 5 ; but they were not " black " ; llic Oxford MS.
(O.A. 1O7) reads: " white and comely."
*^ Not the sea which was the lot of the sons of Ham, nor the deserts
which fell to the sons of Japhcth. Shem has his tents and fixed abode
in the habitable lands of the earth.
THE ARK AND THE FLOOD 173
his sons, (making them) dark || hke the raven,^ and he gave
them as an inheritance the coast of the sea.^ He blessed
Japheth and his sons, (making) them entirely white,^ and
he gave them for an inheritance the desert and its fields ; *
these (are the inheritances with) which he endowed them.^
^ Luria reads, as an emendation, " black and uncomely" ; cf. Gen.
Rab. xxxvi. 7. If our MS. text be accepted, a parallel may be found
in Cant. v. 11.
2 e.g. the Egyptians on the seacoast, or the Sidonians on the
Phoenician coast; cf. Jer. xlvii. 7.
3 The first editions add : " and beautiful." Japheth as a word
signifies " beauty." The sons of Japheth were the migratory tribes
from the north, e.g. the Goths who settled in Europe. See Eth. Enoch
Ixxxviii. g.
* The first editions read : " desert and fields."
^ i.e. the children of Noah. The words in brackets occur in the first
editions. Soe Introduction, pp. xxiv. f., and li.
CHAPTERXXIV
NIMROD AND THE TOWER OF BABEL [28b. i.]
Rabbi Eliezer ^ said : They begat their sons and increased
and raultipHed like a great reptile, six at each birth, ^ and
they were all one people, and one heart, and one language,
as it is said, " And the whole earth was of one language
and of one speech " (Gen. xi. 1).^ They despised the pleasant
land,* as it is said, " And it came to pass, as they journeyed ^
in the east " {ibid. 2). They went to the land of Shinar, and
found there a large stone,^ very extensive, and the whole
plain, and they dwelt there, as it is said, " And they found
a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there " {ibid.).
Rabbi Akiba said : They cast off the Kingdom of
Heaven ^ from themselves, and appointed Nimrod king over
themselves ; a slave son of a slave. Are not all the
sons of Ham slaves ? ^ And woe to the land when a slave
rules,^ as it is said, " For a servant, when he is king " i°
(Prov. XXX. 22).
Rabbi Chakhinai ^^ said : Nimrod was a mighty hero,
1 The first editions read " Ilai."
* We have had this expression supra, p. i6i. It is an "Oriental"
exaggeration, signifjring the proUfic nature of the people.
3 See Pal. Targum, in loc.
* Palestine ; cf. Ps. cvi. 24, and Zohar, Gen. 75b.
* " In the east " might also be rendered " in the commencement,"
or " at first " ; see ?ohar, Gen. 74b.
* The first editions read : " a large and extensive land, entirely a
plain."
' See T.B. 'Erubin, 53a ; cf. Pal. Targum to Gen. x. 8 on Nimrod ;
see also the Book of Jashar vii. 46 fl., and Jerahmeel Ivii. 14. Augustine
rendered Gen. x. 9, " Nimrod was a hunter against God " {de Civ. Dei,
xvi, 4).
* The Venice edition reads : " are slaves."
» The phraseology is based on Eccl s. x. 16.
" The previous verse says, " The earth trembles." Nimrod caused
the people to tremble, as a result of discarding the Kingdom of Heaven.
»i The first editions read " Chanina."
»74
NIMROD AND TOWER OF BABEL 175
as it is said, " And THush begat Nimrod, who began to be a
mighty one in the earth " (Gen. x. 8). Rabbi Jehudah said : ^
The coats 2 which the Holy One, blessed be He, made for
Adam and his wife, were with Noah ^ in the ark, and when
they went forth from the ark, 1| Ham, the son of Noah,
brought them forth with him, and gave them as an inherit-
ance to Nimrod.* When he put them on, all beasts,
animals, and birds, when they saw the coats, ^ came and pros-
trated themselves before him.^ The sons of men ' thought
that this (was due) to the power of his might ; therefore
they made him king over themselves, as it is said, " Where-
fore it is said. Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the
Lord " {ibid. 9).8
Nimrod said to his people : ^ Come, let us build a great
city for ourselves, and let us dwell therein, lest we be
scattered upon the face of all the earth, as the first people ^°
(were). Let us build a great tower in its midst, ascending
to heaven, 11 for the power of the Holy One, blessed be He,
is only in the water,!^ and let us make us a great name on the
earth, as it is said, " And let us make us a name " {ibid.
xi. 4).
^ See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 44 f . On the garments
of Adam and Eve see the Book of Jashar, vii. 24 ff. ; Gen. Rab. xx. 12
and Ixv. 16; Pal. Targ. Gen. xxv. 27, xxvii. 15.
* The first editions read " coat." See Book of the Bee, p. 3^.
' The first editions read " them." See Hippolytus, .<4 .AT.C.L. vi. p.492.
* The Recognitions of Clement, iv. 27, speak of Ham as the first
magician and refer to Nimrod as follows : " the magic art having
been handed down to him as bv a flash " {ibid. 29).
» The MS. reads : " the writing" (ansn).
* See Rashi on T.B. Pesachim, 54b, and the Book of Jashar, loc.
cit.
' The first editions read " they," i.e. his fellow-countrymen ; see
Jalkut, Gen. § 62. See J.E. ix. 309.
^ The next verse says, " The beginning of his kingdom." See
Josephus, Ant. i. 4. 2 ; T.B. Pesachim, 94b; and cf. Pal. Targum,
in loc, and the Book of the Bee, p. 37.
* See T.B. Chullin, 89a; Gen. Rab. xxvi. 4; and cf. Lekach Tob,
Gen. p. 27a.
" At the Flood. According to Jubilees vii. 20, Noah enjoined
upon his sons commandments " to cover the shame of their
flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and
love their neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and
uncleanness and all iniquity. For owing to these three things came
the flood upon the earth."
" See T.B. Synhedrin, 109a, and Othijoth de R. 'Akiba, letter Resh.
B.H.M. iii. pp. 46 f.
12 Luria thinks that the correct reading should be " in heaven,"
and not " in the water."
176 RABBI ELIEZER
Rabbi Phineas said : There were no stones there where-
with to build the city and the tower. What did they do ?
They baked bricks and burnt them Hke a builder' (would
do), until they built it seven ^ mils^ high, and it had ascents
on its east and west, (The labourers) who took up the
bricks went up on the eastern (ascent), and those who
descended went' downTon the western (descent). If a man
fell and died they paid no heed to him, but if a brick fell
they II sat down and wept, and said : Woe is us ! when will
another one come in its stead ? '
And Abraham,'* son of Terah,^ passed by, and saw them
building the city and the tower, and he cursed them in the
name of his God,' as it is said, " Swallow up, O Lord,
divide their language " (Ps. Iv. 9). But they rejected his
words,^ like a stone cast upon the ground. Is it not a fact
that every choice and good ^ stone is only put at the corner
of a building ? and with reference to this, the text says,
" The stone which the builders rejected is become the head
of the corner " {ibid, cxviii. 22).
Rabbi Simeon said : The Holy One, blessed be He,
called to the seventy ^^ angels, who surround the throne of
His glory, and He said to them : Come, let us descend and
let us confuse the seventy nations and the seventy languages. '^
Whence (do we know) that the Holy One, blessed be
' Or " stone mason."
2 The first editions read " seventy." See Book of the Bee, p. 41.
' " Mil " (mille) =2000 cubits. According to the Jalkut, Gen. in
loc, the height was seven miles; see also Jalkut Makhiri, Ps. Iv. p.
145b. The MS. adds " of property."
* This indifference to the value of human life reappears in the story
of the Egj^tian bondage ; see infra, p. 380. See also Rabbinic J Philo-
sophy and Ethics, p. 46, and cf. 3 Baruch iii. 5.
' In the first editions the name is " Abram." See Wisdom x. 5.
' Terah was one of those who assisted in the building of the Tower
of Babel, according to the Zohar, Lev. iiib.
'The expression is borrowed from 2 Kings ii. 2.\. See Seder
'Olam Rab. i. p. 3a.
* Abraham uttered his reproof in vain. See Jalkut, Pss.
§ 703.
' See I Sam. ix. 2 for this phrase.
1" The seventy nations with Israel form the human famil3^ Israel
has no guardian angel ; God is the Guardian of Israel. Sec LXX,
D ut. xxxii. 8. for the earliest form of this Midrash. Augustine, de Civ.
Dei, xvi. 5, offers a parallel to this Haggadali. See al.so Hippolytus
((-d. AcLelis), ii. p. -'43; CLmeiii of ALxandria, Strom, vi. 17; and
Recognitions of Clement, ii. 42.
" The first editions read : " Come, let us confuse their speech."
NIMROD AND TOWER OF BABEL 177
He, spake 1 to them? Because it is said, " Go to, let us
go down " (Gen. xi. 7). " I will go down " is not written,
but " Go to, let us go down." ^ And they cast lots among
them. Because it is said, " When the Most High gave to
the nations their inheritance " (Deut. xxxii. 8). The lot
of the Holy One, blessed be He, fell upon Abraham and
upon his seed,^ as it is said, " For the Lord's portion is his
people ; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance " (ibid. 9).
The Holy One, blessed be He, said : The portion and
lot which have fallen to Me,* My soul liveth thereby,^ as it
is said, " The lots have fallen unto me in pleasures ; yea,
I have a goodly heritage " (Ps. xvi. 6). The Holy One,
blessed be He, descended with the seventy angels, who
surround || the throne of His glory, and they confused their
speech into seventy ^ nations and seventy languages. Whence
do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, descended ?
Because it is said, " And the Lord God came down to see
the city and the tower " (Gen. xi. 5). This was the second
descent.'
And they wished to speak one to another in the lan-
guage ^ of his fellow-countryman, but one did not understand
the language of his fellow. What did they do ? Every
one took his sword, and they fought one another to destroy
(each other), and half the world fell there by the sword,
and thence the Lord scattered them upon the face of all
the earth, as it is said, " So the Lord scattered them
abroad on that account, upon the face of all the earth "
{ibid. 8).
Rabbi Meir said : Esau, the brother of Jacob, saw the
1 Luria reads, " He called." The first editions read : " descended
unto them."
^ See JaH:ut Makhiri, Pss., loc. cit., and cf. Gen. Rab. xxxviii. lo.
^ Some editions read : " and upon his house."
* See Jalkut, Psalms, § 667.
° The first editions read : " My soul delighteth in him."
* Some editions read, " seventy languages." The first editions
add : " Each nation had its own writing and its own language, and
He appointed an angel over each people. And Israel fell unto His
lot and portion, and concerning this it is said, ' For the Lord's portion
is his people'" (Deut. xxxii. 9). Each nation had not only its own
language but also its peculiar style of writing.
' See supra, p. 97.
8 The first editions read, " in the holy language." See supra,
p. 161 . The original language was Hebrew. See for a parallel legend.
Recognitions of Clement, i. 30, and the Book of the Bee, p. 42.
12
178 RABBI ELIE^ER
coats ^ of Nimrod, and in his heart he coveted them,^ and
he slew him,^ and took them from him.^ Whence (do we
know) that they were desirable in his sight ? Because it
is said, " And Rebecca took the precious raiment of Esau,
her elder son " {ihid. xxvii. 15). When he put them on
he also became, by means of them, a mighty ^ hero, as it is
said, " And Esau was a cunning hunter " {ibid. xxv. 27).
And when Jacob went forth ^ from the presence of Isaac,
his father, he said : Esau, the wicked one, is not worthy to
wear these coats. What did he do ? He dug in the earth
and hid them there, as it is said, " A noose ' is hid for him
in the earth " (Job xviii. 10).
1 The first editions add : " which the Holy One, blessed be He, made
for Adam and Eve."
2 The Venice edition reads, as in our text, " them " ; but the Prague
edition reads " it " (i.e. one garment).
* See the Book of Jashar vii. 24, and Pal. Targum, Gen. xxv. zji.
The wonderful garments of Adam and Eve have a parallel in the seam-
less tunic of the Founder of Christianity, see A.N.C.L. xvi. pp. 235!
* See Midrash Agadah, Gen. xxvii. 13 ; Lekach Tob, Gen. p. 06b
and 07:1; Jalkut, Gen. § 115 ; of. Rashi on T.B. Pesachim, 54b, and
Tanchuma, Toledoth, § xii.
* The sentence is wanting in tli^' Oxford MS. (O.A. 167).
* After receiving the blessing from Isaac.
' The rest of the verse says, "and a trap for him in the way."
The garments enabled the wearer to catch the animals. See Pal.
Targum, Gen xxvii. 15 ; and |alk\it, Gen. § 115.
CHAPTER XXV
THE SIN OF SODOM [29a. ii.]
The third descent ^ which He descended ^ || was at Sodom,
as it is said, " I will go down now and see " (Gen. xviii, 21).
The Holy One, blessed be He, said : Shall I not ^ tell My
friend Abraham an important matter which I will do in
My world in the future, as it is said, " And the Lord said,
Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do ? " {ibid. 17).
Rabbi Chanina, son of Dosa,^ said : The Holy One, blessed
be He, was revealed, and three angels ° (appeared) unto
our father Abraham, as it is said, " And he lifted up his
eyes and looked, and, lo, three men " {ibid. 2). He ^ began
to inform him about the conception ^ of the womb by Sarah
his wife, as it is said, " I will certainly return unto thee
when the season cometh round" {ibid. 10). Afterwards He®
told (him) about the doom^ of Sodom,^'' as it is said, " And
the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is
great " {ibid. 20).
1 See preceding chapter. On the ten descents see Zohar, Gen.
75a ; Aboth de Rabbi Nathan («) xxxiv. ; Gen. Rab. xxxviii. 9 and xUx.
0 ; and Jalkut, Gen. § 27 and § 83, and supra, p. 97. note i.
■^ The first editions read : " which the Holy One, blessed be He,
descended."
3 The first editions read : " I will tell."
* The first editions read here " Chaninah."
'' According to our book, God with three angels appeared to
Abraham at Mamre ; see Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, and Nachmanides, in loc.
(Gen. xviii.). According to Midrash Agadah, Gen. (p. 39), the three
angels were Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. See also T.B. Joma, 37a,
and Lekach Tob, Gen. p. 41b.
^ The first editions read : " One " (angel).
' On the angelic message to Abraham see T.B. Baba Mezi'a, 86b; Pal.
Targum to Gen. xviii. 2 ; G:n. Rab. xlvdii. 16 and 1. 2 ; Zohar, Gen. 99a.
* Instead of " Afterwards," the first editions read : " Another "
(angel).
8 Lit. the work, or affair, or business.
1" The first editions add : " and Gomorrah."
»79
180 RABBI ELIEZER
Hence thou mayest learn : ^ Everyone, who wishes to
tell his companion a matter which is a disgrace to him,
begins with a good word '^ and concludes with the evil matter
which is unpleasant to him. Whence do we learn this ?
From the Holy One, blessed be He, for when He was revealed
to our father Abraham, He began to announce to him (the
good news) concerning the conception by Sarah his wife.
Afterwards He told him about the fate of Sodom, as it is
said, " And the Lord said. Because the cry of Sodom and
Gomorrah is great " {ibid.).^ (Abraham) began to ask for
compassion before Him on behalf of Lot, the son of his
brother. He spake before Him : Sovereign of all worlds !
Like the death of the wicked shall the death of the || righteous
be ? (As it is said),"* " Wilt thou consume the righteous ^
with the wicked ? " {ibid. 23). The Holy One, blessed be
He, answered him : Abraham ! *' By the merit of the right-
eous ' (one) will I forgive Sodom.** " If I find in Sodom
fifty righteous" {ibid. 26), then will I forgive it all its^
sins.
Hence they i° said : If there be fifty righteous in the
world, the world exists through their righteousness.
(Abraham) arose and began to beseech (God), and made
supplication before Him until he brought (the number
down to) ten. Hence (the sages said) : ^^ (When there are)
ten people in a place, the place is delivered by their righteous-
ness, as it is said, " And he said, I will not destroy it for
the sake of the ten " {ibid. 32).i2
1 The first editions read : " they said," i.e. the sages.
2 This rule still obtains in connection with the public recital of the
Torah ; see Orach Chayyim, 138.
3 Tlie first editions omit the repetition of the quotation here.
*" As it is said " is omitted in the MS.
* " The righteous " in the Hebrew is in the singular number; this
fact might suggest the idea that Abraham was referring to Lot.
« The first editions add : " By thy hfe ! "
' The first editions read : " By the merit of fifty righteous
(people)."
* The first editions read : " as it is said."
8 The first editions read : " their."
1° The sages.
" The first editions read : " Hence the sages said : If there
be ten righteous people in a place, by their merit the place is
delivered."
1- See Gen. Rab. xlix. 13 ; Shocher Tob, Ps. v. p. 26b; and Zohar,
Gen. 105b. Jer. v. i is the Biblical authority- for the doctrine that
the merit of the individual procures Divine forgiveness ; cf. Ezek. xiv.
THE SIN OF SODOM 181
Rabbi Ze'era said : The men of Sodom were the wealthy
men of prosperity,^ on account of the good and fruitful
land 2 whereon they dwelt. For every need which the
world requires, they obtained therefrom. They procured
gold therefrom, as it is said, " And it had dust of gold "
(Job xxvdii. 6). What ^ is the meaning (of the text), " And
it had dust of gold " ? At the hour when one of them
wished to buy a vegetable, he would say to his servant,
Go and purchase for me (for the value of) an assar.'* He
went and bought (it), and found beneath it heaps of gold ; **
thus it is written, "And it had dust of gold"^ (ibid.).
They obtained silver therefrom, as it is said, " Surely
there is a mine for silver " {ibid. 1). They procured precious
stones and pearls thence, as it is said, IJ " The stones thereof
are the place of sapphires " {ibid. 6). They obtained
bread therefrom, as it is said, " As for the earth, out of it
Cometh bread " {ibid. 5). But they did not trust in the
shadow of their Creator, but (they trusted) in the multitude
of their wealth," for wealth thrusts aside its owners from the
fear of Heaven,^ as it is said, " They that trust in their
wealth " (Ps. xlix. 6).^
Rabbi Nathaniel ^° said : The men of Sodom had no con-
sideration for the honour of their Owner by (not) distributing
19. The inference as to the salvation of the world by the merit of fifty
righteous people is derived from God's words in Gen. xviii. 26 : " And
I will spare for their sake all the place" {i.e. every place). Abraham
had spoken merely of " the place."
' The first editions read : " the wealthy men of the world."
2 Sodom was situated at the right of Jerusalem ; see Ezek. xvi.
46. The phraseology in our text is borrowed from Num. xiii. 19, 20.
^ The first editions omit this sentence.
* Assar = Assarius = y*, of a silver Denar. On this point see
Krauss, T.A. li. p. 407. The first editions add: "(some) vege-
tables."
^ Lit. "full of gold." The first editions read: "gold." See
T.B. Synhedrin, 109a ; Siphre, Deut. § 43 ; and Tosephta Sotah iii.
p. 296.
* See Lev. Rab. v. 2 ; and Jalkut, Job, § 915. The idea of the
Haggadah seems to be as follows : When the vegetable was bought at
the cost of an Assar, the dust of the earth which was clinging to the
vegetable was so valuable (owing to the gold which it contained) that
the purchaser received back more than he had paid.
' See Ps. Iii. 9 ; the Midrashim refer this passage to the story of
Sodom.
* The first editions read : " thrusts aside from its owners the fear of
Heaven."
' See Prov. xxx. 8.
1" The first editions read : " Joshua, son of Korchah,"
182 RABBI ELIEZER
food to the wayfarer and the stranger,^ but they (even)
fenced in - all the trees on top above their fruit so that they
should not be seized ;» (not) even by the bird of heaven,
as it is said, " That path no bird of prey knoweth " (Job
xxviii. 7).
Rabbi Joshua, son of Korchah,^ said : They appointed over
themselves judges who were lying judges, and they oppressed
every wayfarer ^ and stranger who entered Sodom by their
perverse judgment, and they sent them forth naked, as it is
said, " They have oppressed the stranger without judgment "
(Ezek. xxii. 29).^
They were dwelling in security without care and at ease,
without the fear of war from all their surroundings, as it
is said, " Their houses are safe from fear " (Job xxi. 9).^
They were sated with all the produce of the earth, but they
did not strengthen with the loaf of bread either the hand
of the needy or of the poor,'^ as it is said, '^ Behold, this
was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom ; pride, fulness of bread,^
and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters ;
neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy "
(Ezek. xvi. 49).» ||
Rabbi Jehudah said : They made a proclamation in
Sodom (saying) : Everyone who strengthens the hand of
the poor or the needy with a loaf of bread shall be burnt
'The first editions read : " the native and the stranger" ; see Job
xxviii. 4. They caused human intercourse with the outside 'world to
cease. To honour God is to be merciful ; see Prov. iii. 3 and xiv. 31 ;
T.B. Sabbath, 127a. The men of Sodom did not suffer the birds to
praise God by singing on the trees in their land. The Book of Jashar
(.XIX. 7) says : " And when men heard all these things that the people
of the cities of Sodom did, they refrained from coming there." For
further stories of cruelty see Pal. Targum on Gen. xviii • and cf
Rahbimc Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 60 ff. '
2 The first editions read : " thev cut of?."
3 The first editions read : " so that there should not be any benefit
from them." •'
* The first editions read " Nathaniel."
6 Sec the Book of Jashar xix. ? ff. ; T.B. Synhedrin, 109a.
^ 1 he first editions omit this quotation.
' The Book of Jashar (xix. 44) reads : "For they (the men of Sodom)
had abundance of food and had tranquillity amongst them, still they
would not sustain the poor and needy."
8 In the MS. the quotation ends here, " etc." being added.
'Their prosperity led to their rebelHon against God; cf. Hos.
xui. 6. In the Book of Jashar, cluipier xix., we have two stories
on the theme of this paragraph ; they are probably variants of one
tradition.
THE SIN OF SODOM 183
by fire. Peletith,^ daughter of Lot, was wedded to one of
the magnates of Sodom. She saw a certain very ^ poor
man in the street of the city, and her soul was grieved on
his account, as it is said, " Was not my soul grieved for
the needy ? " (Job xxx. 25).=^ What did she do ? Every
day when she went out to draw water she put in her bucket
all sorts of provisions from her home, and she fed that poor
man. The men of Sodom said : How does this poor man
live ? When they ascertained the facts, they brought her
forth to be burnt with fire. She said : Sovereign of all
worlds ! Maintain my right and my cause ^ (at the hands
of) the men of Sodom. And her cry ascended before the
Throne of Glory. In that hour the Holy One, blessed be
He, said : " I will now descend, and I will see " (Gen. xviii.
21)^ whether the men of Sodom have done according to
the cry ^ of this young woman, I will turn her founda-
tions upwards,'^ and the surface thereof shall be turned
downwards, as it is said, " I will now descend, and I will
see whether they have done altogether according to her
cry, which is come unto me " (ibid.). " According to their
cry " is not written here (in the text), only " According to
her cry."
And thus the text savs,^ " He who walketh with wise
1 See T.B. Synhedrin, 109b. The name Peletith is given by the
Pal. Targum on Gen. xviii. 21, Book of Jashar xix. 24 ; cf. Gen. Rab.
xlix. 6; Jalkut, Gen. §83; and Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 63.
In the Midrash Agadah (Genesis), p. 42. the name of Lot's daughter
is Kalah. The Oxford MS. (O.A. 167) reads " Paltia."
2 Lit. " broken," " afflicted," or " humiUated." See J.E. xi. 424.
^ This quotation is not in the printed texts of P.R.E.
* Ps. ix. 4 may have suggested the phrase of our text. Luria
observes that this Psalm might well apply to the story of Sodom.
' The first editions continue the verse : " whether according to her
cry which is come unto me." The word in the Hebrew text which the
R.V. renders " according to the cry of it " is rendered by the Midrash
literally " according to her cry."
® Pal. Targum, Gen. xviii. 20 f., reads: "And the Lord said to the
ministering angels, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, because they
oppress the poor, and decree that whosoever giveth bread to the needy
shall be burnt with fire, is therefore great ; and their guilt is exceed-
ingly heavy. I will now appear, and see whether, as the cry of tlie
damsel Peletith, which ascendeth before Me, they have completed their
sins."
' See Job xxviii. 5. This chapter is applied by our author to the
story of Sodom. See also Lev. Rab. v. 2 ; and Midrash Haggadol. c.
282, note 98.
* Luria reads : " Behold (the text) says." The reading, if rendered
literally, is : " And thus it (or he) says."
184 RABBI ELIEZER
men slmll be wise : but the companion of fools shall be
broken " (Prov. xiii. 20). || " He who walketh with wise
men shall be wise." To Avhat is this like ? To one who
enters a perfumer's shop, although he neither takes any-
thing nor gives anything,^ nevertheless he absorbs a good
scent, and goes away (therewith). Like^v^se everyone
who walks with the righteous acquires some of their
good ways and deeds. Therefore it is said, " He who
walketh with wise men shall be ^vise." " But the com-
panion of fools shall be broken " (ibid.). To what is this
comparable ? To a man who enters a tannery, although
he neither takes or gives anything,^ nevertheless he has
absorbed a foul odour.^ Likewise he who walks with the
wicked acquires some of their evil ways and deeds, that is
according to what is written,^ " But the companion of
fools shall be broken " (ibid.).
Another explanation : ■* " He who walketh with wise
men shall be wise " (ibid.). This refers to Lot,'^ who walked
with our father Abraham, and learned of his good deeds
and ways. They ^ said : What did oiu- father Abraham
do ? He made for himself a house opposite to Haran,''
and he received everyone who entered into or went out
from Haran, and he gave him to eat and to drink. He
said to them : Say ye, The God of Abraham is the only
one in the universe.^ |] When Lot came to Sodom he did
likewise. When they made proclamation in Sodom : All
who strengthen the hand of the poor or need)' with a loaf
of bread shall be burnt by fire,^ he was afraid of the men of
the city, (and did not venture) to do so by day, but he did
it by night, as it is said, " And the two angels came to
Sodom at even ; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom " (Gen.
^ Or, " he neither sells nor buys."
* The first editions add : " and he brings it away with himself."
' The first editions read : " as it is said."
* This is missing in the first edition.
« See Jalkul, Deut. § 824; Midrash, Prov. (ed. Buber), ch. xiii.
p 3<>b; and Jalkut, Prov. xiii. ij 950.
* The sages.
' Cf. Gen. .xii. .\ L Luria suggests that the reading should be
" Sodom." See Agadath Bercshith, 25 ; Gen. Rab. hi. i and liv. '>;
Jalkut, Gen. § 84, reads: " outside Haran."
"The first editions read: "He said to him: There is one God
in the Universe."
" See Pal. Targum, quoted supra, p. 183, note 6,
THE SIN OF SODOM 185
xix. 1). Why did Lot sit in the gate of Sodom ? 1 Because
he was afraid of the men of the city, (and did not venture) to
act (charitably) by day, but he did so by night. He saw the
two angels walking in the street of the city , and he thought that
they were wayfarers in the land, and he ran to meet them.
He said to them : Come and lodge ye overnight in my house,
eat and drink, and ye shall go your way in peace. But the
men would not accept this for themselves, and he took them
by the hand against their will, and brought them inside his
house, as it is said, " And he urged them greatly " {ibid. 3).
A certain young man of the people of that city saw them,
and he ran and told all the men of that city, and they
all gathered together at the door of the house to do according
to their wont, even deeds of sodomy,^ as it is said, " And
they called unto Lot, and said unto him, || Where ^ are the
men who came to thee to-night ? bring them forth unto us
that we may know * them " {ibid. 5). What did Lot do ?
Just as Moses gave his life for the people,^ so Lot ^ gave
up his two daughters instead of the two angels, as it is
said, " Behold, now, I have two daughters " {ibid. 8).
But the men ' would not agree (and did not accept them).
What did the angels do to them ? They smote them with
blindness until the dawn of the (next) morning. All were
treated with (measure for) measure.^ Just as he had taken
1 The first editions read : " For on that day they had appointed
him (judge) over themselves. (Lot) overtook them (the angels) and
said to them," etc. Cf. Esth. v. 13, lor Mordecai who sits in the " king's
gate," i.e. as a judge ; cf. Sublime Porte for the use of " gate " as a
court of government or law.^ The MS. seems to have a mistake here ;
it merely repeats what was stated a few lines previously, without ex-
plaining why Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. See Pal. Targum, in loc.
2 The first editions omit " deeds of sodomy." A parallel occurs in
Ck-ment of Alexandria, P(sd. iii. 8.
^ The MS. does not give this part of the verse.
* " Know " in the sense of punishing offenders, cf. Judg. viii. 16 ;
see Parchon's Heb. Lexicon, s.v. yT ; or perhaps it is used here in the
sense of carnal knowledge.
* The first editions read " Israel." See Mekhilta, p. 34b.
* The first editions read : " So Lot gave his life for them." By
going out to reason with the men of Sodom, who threatened to deal
with him according to their wont.
' Of Sodom.
* See Pal. Targum, Gen. xix. 24: " And the word of the Lord had
caused showers of favour to descend upon Sodom and Gomorrah that
they might repent, but they did not."
^ Dr. Buchler notes as a parallel the expression xaai nyi of the
court of the Exilarch of Babylon.
186 RABBI ELIEZER
them by the hand without their will and taken them into
his house, so they took hold of his hand,^ and the hand of
his wife, and the hand of his two daughters, and took them
outside the city, as it is said, " But he lingered ; and the
men laid hold upon his hand " {ibid. 16). And they - said to
them : ^ Do not look behind you, for verily the Shckhinah
of the Holy One, blessed be He, has descended in order
to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and
fire.^ The pity of 'Edith ^ the wife of Lot was stirred for
her daughters, who were married in Sodom, ^ and she looked
back behind her to see if they were coming after her or not.
And she saw behind " the Shekhinah, and she became a
pillar of salt, as it is said, " And his wife looked back
from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt " {ibid. 26).^
1 Cf. Gen. xix. i6 ff. Some of the later editions omit the words
" the hand of his wife." See Mid rash Haggadol, c. 291 f.
2 The angels.
=* Lot and his family. The text in Gen. (xix. 17) says, " Do not
look behind thee " ; note that the singular number is employed.
* Pal. Targum, Gen. xix. J4, reads : " There are now sent down upon
them sulphur and fire from before the word of the Lord from Heaven."
See Zohar, G'.n. 107b f.
*'The MS. reads either " 'Erith " or " 'Edith." Midrash Haggadol,
c. 293, has ""Edith." In Jalkut, iw /of., '"Erith " is the reading. 'Edith
points to '"Ed," witness, for such was the pillar of salt. " Ado " is the
reading in the Book of Jashar (xix. 52). Pal. Targum. loc. cit. 2h, reads :
" And his wife looked after the angel to know what would be the end of
her father's house, for she was of the daughters of the men of Sodom,
and because she sinned by salt she was manifestly punished ; behold,
she was made a statue of salt." The Second Version adds: " until the
time of the resurrection shall come when the dead shall arise."
® See Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit.
'' The first editions read : " behind her."
* The first editions add the following : " And she stands even now.
All day the oxen lick it and it decreases up to her feet, and in the
morning (the pillar of salt) grows afresh, as it is said : ' And his wife
looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt' " (Gen.
xix, 26). In the days of Maimonides all trace of the pillar had been
lost. The Book of Jashar (xix. 54) reads : " And the oxen which stood
in that place daily licked up the salt to the extremities of their feet,
and in the morning it would spring forth afresh and they again licked
it up, unto this day." For a paralKl Christian Midrash, .see "A Strain
of Sodom" in A.N.C.L. xviii. p. 230. See Jalkut, Esth. § 1055; Jalkut,
Exodus, § 256. See Koran (ed. Rodwcll), Ixxxvii. p. 301, and Josephus,
Ant. i. II. 4, for references to Sodom. On Lot's wife, see Wisdom x.
7 ; Cyril of Jerusalem ; Mystagogue's Catechism viii. ; Augustine, de Civ.
Dei, X. 8. On the Flight from Sodom, see Ambrose, Flight from the World,
54 ; Gregory the Great, Pastoral Ride, iii. 27. On Lot's hospitality, see
Chrysostomus, Horn, xxxiii. 2 ; cf. Heb. xiii. 2. See also Griinbaum,
op, cit. pp. 132 ff., and Ginzb.rg, op. cit. pp. 108 ff.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM [31a. ii.]
Our father Abraham was tried with ten trials,^ || and he stood
firm in them all.^ The first trial ^ was when our father
Abraham was born ; all the magnates of the kingdom *
and the magicians sought to kill him, and he was hidden
under the earth ^ for thirteen years without seeing sun or
moon. After thirteen years ^ he went forth from beneath
^ See Jubilees xvii. 17 and xix. 8. Parallels to our text are to
be found in Aboth v. 3 (with a variant reading) ; Aboth de R. Nathan
{a) xxxiii. and {b} xxxvi. ; Jalkut, Gen. § 68 ; Bock of Jashar xii. ff. ;
Shocher Tob, Ps. xviii. p. 77a ; Midrash Agadah (Genesis), p. 26; and
cf. Liturg}' for the Second Day of the New Year, the Piyyut : " Thy
Word is pure " ; and see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 75, and cf.
Griinbaum, op. cit. pp. 99 f.
2 The first editions insert here the following : " and it was foreseen
by him that in the future his children would tempt the Holy One,
blessed be He, with ten trials, and He anticipated the cure for their
wound, 1 and He tried him with ten trials." -
* The Aboth de R. Nathan, loc. cit., does not enumerate this nor the
second trial. On the order of the trials, see Hoffmann, Mishnajoih. p. 352.
* See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 49 f., and Jalkut, Gen. loc.
cit., which reads as our MS. ; and see the Book of Jashar (viii. 15 ff.),
and Jerahmeel xxxiv. The first editions omit: " and the magicians."
Instead of " the kingdom " later editions read " Nimrod." The
magicians were led to persecute Abram by observing his star at his
birth; see infra, pp. 377 f. ; and cf. Beer, Das Leben Abrahams,
pp. 98 f. The birth stories of Abraham, Moses (cf. Josephus, Ant.
ii. 9. 2, and T.B. Sotah, 12a), and Jesus have much in common except
the " Virgin Birth," which is peculiar to the narrative concerning the
birth of the founder of Christianity.
'' Lit. " in a house of the earth," i.e. a cave. Cf. Isa. xU. 2 and
the Book of Jashar viii. 35.
* The Midrashim differ on this point; see Gen. Rab. xxxviii. 12,
xcv. 3 ; Cant. Rab. on Cant. ii. 5. See the Book of Jashar ix. 4; and
R. Bechai on Gen., in loc. See also T.B. Nedarim, 32a ; Est. Rab.
ii. 5 ; and generally for the legends of Abraham, see Ginzberg, The
1 See T.B. Megillah, 13b.
2 In Aboth de R. Nathan, loc. cit., the ten plagues in Egypt are
referred to as a parallel to the ten trials. See also Jalkut, Ps. § 777.
187
188 RABBI ELIEZER
the earth, speaking the holy language ; ^ and he despised
idols 2 and held in abomination the graven images, and
he trusted in the shadow of his Creator, and said : ^
" Blessed is the man who trusts in thee " (Ps. Ixxxiv. 12).
The second trial was when he was put into prison for
ten years — three years in Kuthi,"* seven years in Budri.-^
After ^ ten years they sent and brought him forth and
cast him into the furnace of fire," and the King of
Glory ^ put forth His right hand ^ and delivered him
from the furnace of fire, as it is said, " And he said to
him, I am the Lord who brought thee out of the furnace ^^
of the Chaldees " (Gen. xv. 7). Another verse (says),
" Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram,
and broughtest him forth out of the furnace of the
Chaldees " (Neh. ix. 7).ii
The third trial was his migration ^^ from his father's
house 1^ and from the land of his birth ; and He brought him to
Legends of the Jews. i. pp. 1S5 ff., and Gorion's Die Sngen der Juden. ii.
pp. 26 ff. For further references see Beer, op. cit. pp. 102 f . Our book
relates that Abraham was in his fourteenth year when he abandoned
idol worship. This agrees with Jubilees xi. 16, which also speaks of hi?
learning writing. OurauLiior varies this by referring to his knowledge
of the Holy language. Jubilees xii. 25, 26, however, refers to Abraham's
ability to speak Hebrew.
* See Gen. Rab. xlii. 8.
" The first editions read : " groves."
^ The first editions add : " O Lord of Hosts." This is part of the
verse quoted. See the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew vi. {A.N.C.L. xvi.
p. 23) for a parallel Christian jMidrash.
■* The first editions read Kutha, which is identified by the Talmud
{B. Baba Bathra, 91a) with the Casdim ; see also Josephus, Ant. i.
6. 5 and i. 7. i.
'6 Cf. T.B. Baba Bathra, loc. cit.. and Jalkut, Gen. § 77. The first
editions read Kardi ; for the variant spellings see Jastrow, T.D. I4r2a.
Probably our MS. should read Kudri. See also Hi])polyius (ed.
Achelis), p. 90.
* In the first editions the reading is : " Some say three years in
Kardi and seven years in Kutha."
' See Rahbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 52 ff., and cf. Pal. Targnm,
Gen. xi. 28. See also infra, p. 420.
* See T.B. Pesachim, ii8a. and Cant. Rab. on Cant. i. i.
'* See Gen. Rab. xliv. 4.
**• niN (Ur), "furnace." Cf. Isa. xliv. iT. and Griiiibaum, op. cit.
pp. 90 ff., and see Introduction, p. li.
" This quotation is omitted by the printed texts. It forms part of
the morning liturgy ; see Singer, p. 34.
'^ See Jubilees xvii. 17. This trial is the first according to the Mid-
rash Haggadol, Gen. c. 201.
'^ From Ur of the Chaldees, his country. This agrees with Ibn
Ezra's interpretation of the text, Gen. xii. i.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 189
Haran,^ and there his father Terah died,- and Athrai ^ his
mother.^ Migration is harder for man than for any other
creature.^ Whence do we know of his migration ? Because
it is said, " Now the Lord said 1| unto Abram, Get thee out "
(Gen. xii. l).^
The fourth trial (was the famine). From the day when
the heavens and the earth were created, the Holy One,
blessed be He, had not brought into the world a famine
but only in the days of Abraham,' and not in any of
the lands but only in the land of Canaan,^ in order to
try him and to bring him down into Egypt, as it is said,
" And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went
down into Egypt " (ibid. 10).
The fifth trial was when Sarah his ^vife was taken to
Pharaoh to be (his) wife. And is there any man, who
seeing his wife taken away to another man, would not rend
his garments ? But (he trusted in the Holy One, blessed
be He,) that he would not approach her.^ Whence do we
know that Sarah was taken to Pharaoh to be his wife ?
Because it is said, " And the jDrinces of Pharaoh saw her "
{ibid. 15).io
Rabbi Joshua, son of Korchah,^^ said : In that night when
our mother Sarah was taken, it was Passover night,^- and
^ Luria thinks that the text should continue : " as it is said :
' Get thee out of thy land and from thy birthplace ' " (Gen. xii. i).
- See Seder 'Olam Rab. i. p. 2b, note 22, and p. 3a, note 24.
3 The 2nd ed. reads Amathlai ; see T.B. Baba Bathra, 91a. and
Beer, op. cit. pp. 96 f.
* See T.B. Baba Bathra, loc. cit.
* Cf. T.B. Kethuboth, 28a, based on Isa. xxii. 17; see also T.B.
Synhedrin, 26a, and Jalkut on Isa. § 280. Perhaps the last words of
the sentence in our text should read : " than anything else." The
reading in the Midrash Haggadol, Gen., loc. cit., is : " which was the
hardest of all " (the trials).
* The first editions continue the quotation.
' This does not agree with Gen. Rab. xxv. 3, according to which
there were two famines prior to the days of Abraham.
* See Rashi, Gen. xii. 10.
' The words in brackets are missing in our MS. ; they are based on
Luria's emendation. The first editions read : " But in accordance with
her counsel he did not approach her."
1" The printed texts omit the question and answer. The rest of the
quotation reads : ' ' And they praised her to Pharaoh : and the woman
was taken into Pharaoh's house."
1^ The first editions read : " Rabbi Tarphon." This agrees with the
reading preserved in the Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 208 f.
'- See supra, p. i ^t,, for a similar expression in connection with the
offering of Cain and Abel ; of. Zohar, Gen. 21b, 22a.
190 RABBI ELIEZER
the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon Pharaoh and
upon his house great plagues,^ to make known - that thus
in the future would He smite the people of his land,^ as it
is said, " And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house
with great plagues " (ibid. 17). Concerning the Egyptians
it is written, " Yet one plague more will I bring upon
Pharaoh, and upon Egypt " (Ex. xi. 1). Was this a
plague ? Was it not (the slaying of) the first-born of the
Egyptians ? But the slaying is compared with the plagues,
therefore it is said, " And the Lord plagued \\ Pharaoh "
(Gen. xii. 17).'»
Rabbi Joshua ben Korchah said : Because of his love for
her, (Pharaoh) ^ wrote in her marriage document (giving her)
all his wealth,^ whether in silver, or in gold, or in man-
servants, or land,^ and he wrote (giving) her the land of
Goshen for a possession. Therefore the children of Israel
dwelt in the land of Goshen, in the land of their mother
Sarah.^ He (also) wrote (giving) her Hagar, his
daughter ^ from a concubine, as her handmaid. And
whence do we know that Hagar was the daughter of
Pharaoh ? ^^ Because it is said, " Now Sarai Abram's
wife bare him no children ; and she had an handmaid, an
Egyptian, whose name was Hagar" {ibid. xvi. 1). Pharaoh
rose up early in the morning confused ^^ because he had not
approached her,^- and he sent and called Abraham, and
said to him : Behold, Sarai thy wife is before thee, and all
the deeds of her marriage contract are with her, take (her)
1 Cf. Jalkut, Gen. § 68.
- The Venice edition reads : " to make known to him."
^ The first editions read : " the Egyptians with great plagues."
■* This entire section from "Concerning" is omitted in the printed
texts. On the subject-matter see Midrash Agadah (Gen.), p. 47.
* " Pharaoh " is missing in the MS. ; it occurs in the first editions.
« Lit. " his Mammon." On this term sec Jewish Sources of the
Sermon on the Mount, p. 16 >.
' jalkut, loc. lit., adds : " maid-servants."
* The first editions read : " which belonged to our mother
Sarah." Have we an apology on behalf of Jews, who in the days
of our author were living in Egypt, claiming to be in their own land ?
* See Pal. Targum, Gen. xvi. i, and Gen. Rab. xlv. i., and the Book
of the Bee, p. 42.
"> The first editions read : " Hagar the Egyptian was an hand-
maid ? " See Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 208, and c. 241.
^' The first editions add : " and agitated."
12 The first editions read : " Sarah." The various incidents are
based on the story of Abimelcch's conduct in a similar instance.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 191
and go, do not tarry in this land, as it is said, " Now
therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go " (ibid. xii. 19).^
" And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him,^ and they
sent him forth " {ibid. 20). And he had Abraham led
so as to come*^ to the land of Canaan. He sojourned in
the land of the Philistines * in order to be refreshed
there. And he went away. And everything is foreseen
by the Holy One, blessed be He, and Abimelech ^ sent
and took Sarah, thinking to raise up children from her,
as it is said, " And Abimelech . . . sent, and took Sarah "
(ibid. XX. 2).
And Abimelech became impotent, and all the women of
his house became barren,^ even || to the smallest insect (which
also became) barren, as it is said, " For the Lord had fast
closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech " (ibid.
18). And the angel Michael descended and drew his sword
against him." Abimelech said to him : Is this a true
judgment and a true sentence to slay me as long as I had
no knowledge ? ^ " Wilt thou slay even a righteous
nation ? " {ibid. 4).^ He said unto him : ^^ " Restore the
^ The first editions add : " And it is written after this (text)."
2 The quotation ends here. See Pal. Targum, in loc. The first
editions add : " Whatever he gave to Sarah, Abimelech gave to Abram,
as it is said, ' And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and menservants
and womenservants ' " (Gen. xx. 14).
* The first editions read : " And he had Abram led (so a;.) to come
in the land of Canaan as far as the land of the Philistines."
* Luria thinks that the reading of our text was originally thus :
" Let us pass over the narrative of Abraham, from his entrance into
Egypt till he came to the land of the Philistines ; all this story will
be narrated farther on in this book." Our MS. preserves apparently
a better reading.
^ Luria holds that the text should read : " As far as the land of
the Philistines, and (here) Abimelech sent and took Sarah, thinking
that he would be enabled to acquire children from her ; but everything
is revealed before the Holy One, blessed be He, Michael descended,"
etc. Our MS. seems to have preserved the true text.
* See T.B. Baba Kamma, 92a. The MS. adds : " and even Michael
(came before) Abimelech." The words are out of place, and are wanting
in the Oxford MS.
' The first editions add : " to slay him." For the narrative see
Pesikta Rabbatln, p. 176b ; and cf. Liturgy for the Second Day of the
New Year (ed. Heidenheim), p. 33a, where tlie ten trials are enumerated;
and cf. T.B. Baba Kamma, loc. cit., and R.Is.J., Ixviii. p. 147.
* The first editions read : " to slay me for a matter which I did not
know, as it is said."
* The first editions add : " Verily he said unto me : ' She is my
sister' " (Gen. xx. 2).
" Abimelech.
192 RABBI ELIEZER
man's wife, for he is a prophet " {ibid. 7).^ " And he
shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live " {ibid.).
Rabbi Joshua, son of Korchah, (rehearsed) before Rabbi
Tarphon (saying) : Whatever Pharaoh gave, he gave to
Sarah ; whatever Abimelech gave, he gave to Abraham ; as
it is said, " And Abimelech took sheep and oxen " {ibid.
14).'- Abraham arose and prayed before the Holy One,
blessed be He, and said before Him : Sovereign of all the
worlds ! Thou hast created the whole world to increase
and multiply, and let Abimelech and all the females of his
household increase and multiply. The Holy One, blessed
be He, was entreated of him, as it is said, " And Abraham
prayed ^ unto God : and God healed Abimelech, and his wife,
and his maidservants;^ and they bare children" {ibid. 17).
1 The first editions add here: "From thee one may learn, if a
man come to a town, let people ask him concerning his requirements
of food, but let them not inquire after his wife." See T.B. Maccoth,
gb, and T.B. Baba Kamma, 92b.
2 The text continues : " and gave them unto Abraham." The
entire sentence is wanting in the first editions. The section seems out
of place here.
* The quotation ends here in the MS. ; it is continued in the first
editions.
* The first editions read : " his household." The legend of Abram
in the furnace was known to Augustine, de Civ. Dei. xvi. 13. The
incident with Sarah and Abimelech is discussed by Chrj'sostomus, To
Olympias, iii. 3 ; Theodoret, On Divine Providence, x. Augustine, de
Civ. Dei, xvi. 19, defends Abraham's conduct and praises him in this
connection.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM (continued) [32a. i.]
The sixth trial ^ was (when) all the kings ^ came against
him 3 to slay him.^ They said : Let us first begin with the
house ^ of his brother, and afterwards let us begin with him.^
On account of Lot they took all (the wealth of) ^ Sodom
and Gomorrah,® as it is said, " And they took all the goods
of Sodom and Gomorrah " || (Gen. xiv. 11). Afterwards
they took Lot captive, and all his wealth, as it is said,
" And they took Lot . . . and ^ his goods " (ibid. 12).
Michael came and told Abraham, as it is said, " And
there came one who had escaped, and told Abram ^"^ the
Hebrew" {ibid. 13). He^^ is the prince of the world, he
was the one who told, as it is said, " Curse not the king,
no, not in thy thought ; . . , he who hath wings shall tell
the matter " (Eccles. x. 20). Why was his name called
"Palit" ("One who had escaped")? Because in the hour
when the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Sammael and
^ According to Mid rash Agadah, Gen. p. 26, this incident is not
enumerated among the ten trials of Abraham. A good deal of the
material of this chapter is preserved in Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c.
214 ff. ; especially cols. 217 and 218.
2 Amraphel and his allies mentioned in Gen. xiv. i. Amraphel
is identified with Nimrod in T.B. "Erubin, 53a. See Gen. Rab. xlii. 4.
' See Jalkut, Gen. § 68, which has used P.R.E.
* See T.B. Synhedrin, y5b.
^ The first editions read : " with the son of his brother." The
reference is to Lot.
* See Lekach Tob and Agadath Bereshith on Gen. xiv. 1 1.
' Our MS. omits " the wealth of " ; it occurs in the first editions;
see also for similar text, Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 216.
8 See Gen. Rab. xlii. 7.
* The MS. reads : " and all his goods " ; the word " all " is not in the
actual quotation.
1" See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 182.
" i.e. Michael. See Midrash Haggadol, Gen., loc. cit., which has a
better text : "for he discloses all the secrets of the world,"
194 RAEBI ELIEZER
his band to descend from heaven from their holy place, ^
he caught hold of the wings of Michael to make him fall -
with himself, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saved ^ him
from his power ; ■* therefore was his name called " The one
who had escaped." ^ Concerning him Ezekicl said, " One
who had escaped ^ out of Jerusalem came to me, saying,
The city is smitten " (Ezek. xxxiii. 21).
Abraham rose up early in the morning, and he took his
three disciples, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, with him, and
Eliezcr ' his servant with him (also), and he pursued after
them as far as Dan, which is Pameas,^ as it is said, " And
he pursued as far as Dan " (Gen. xiv. 14). And there the
righteous man ^ was hindered, for there it was told him :
Abraham, know thou that in the future ^'^ thy children's
children will serve idols in this place ; therefore was he
hindered there. Whence do we know that Israel served
idols there ? Because it is said, " And he made two calves
of gold . . . and he set the || one ^^ in Bethel, and the other put
he in Dan " (1 Kings xii. 28, 29). There he left his three
disciples,i2 ^nd he took his servant Eliezer. The numerical
value of the letters of his name equals 318.^3 jje pursued
> See supra, pp. 46, 92, 99.
2 " With him " is added by the'Arukh, ed. Kohut, vi. p. 340b.
^ths, hence B^"?!! (Paht).
* Lit. " hand." See Assumption of Moses x. i, 2 for the final con-
flict b twe en Michael and SatEin. Cf. Jude 9.
' Palit. The title of Michael as Palit (e'Vs) may possibly be due to
an abbreviated form of his other title of Praklit (a''7pi3j ; see Rabbinic
Philosophy and Ethics, p. 74.
* See Pal. Targum, Gen. xiv. 13.
' The first editions read : " three disciples and EUezer his servant."
* See T.B. Megillah, 6a, Bechoroth, 55a, and 'Arukh, ed. Kohut, vi.
p. 369b ; and cf . Targum to Cant. v. 4.
* Abraham.
^o See T.B. Synhedrin, 96a ; and Pal. Targum, Gen. xiv. 14.
" The calf of gold.
I'' See T.B. Nedarim, 32a ; Gen. Rab. xhii. 2 ; Agadath Bereshith,
13; and cf. Tanchuma, Lekh Lekha, § ix. The first editions add:
" and their wives with them."
13 This Haggadah was known to Clement of Alexandria, whose book
The Miscellanies, vi. 11, states: "As then in astronomy we have
Abraham as an instance, so also in arithmetic we have the same
Abraham. For, hearing that Lot was taken captive, and having
numbered his own servants born in his house, 318, he defeats a very
great number of the enemy." See also the Epistle of Barnabas ix.,
where the " 318 " is interpreted as a Christian Midrash. See Siegfried,
Philo von Alexandria, p. 330, and Gudemann, Religionsgeschichtliche
Studien, pp. 119-121. Other Rabbinic parallels are Pal. Targum, Gen.,
he. cit., and Posikta Rabbathi, § xviii. p. 91 h. The first editions add
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 195
them as far as the left of Damascus,^ as it is said, " And
he pursued them unto Hobah " (Gen. xiv. 15).
Samuel the Younger said : There the night was divided
for him ; (the night) when the children of Israel went
forth out of Egypt,- that was the night in which Abraham
smote the kings and their camps with them, as it is said,
"And he divided himself against them by night, he and his
servants " (ibid.).^
Hillel the Elder said : Abraham took all the wealth of
Sodom and Gomorrah and all the wealth of Lot, the son of
his brother, and he returned in peace,'* and not even one of
his men failed ^ him, as it is said, " And he brought back
all ^ the goods, and also his brother Lot " {ibid. 16)."
Rabbi Joshua ® said : Abraham was the first to begin
to give a tithe. He took all the tithe of the kings and all
the tithe of the wealth of Lot, the son of his brother, and
gave (it) to Shem,^ the son of Noah, as it is said, " And
he gave him a tenth of all " {ibid. 20).
after 318: "He led forth his trained men, born in his house" (Gen.
xiv. 14). There are also variations in the next quotation, according to
our MS. and the first editions respectively.
1 See Gen. xiv. 15.
2 The first editions read : " That is the night which was from of
old, that is the night in which He smote the first-born of the Egyptians."
This night was destined from the beginning, prepared for the victories
of Abraham and his seed, see Mekhilta, p. 1 3a ; G n. Rab. xliii. 3 ; and cf .
infra, pp. 201 , 402. The night itself was divided, one-half being spent
in the days of Abraham in gaining victory, and the other half of the
night was destined to be reserved for the victory of God over Egypt at
the Exodus. See Wisdom xviii. 6.
* The first editions add : " And concerning this (night) it is said :
' And it came to pass at midnight ' " (Ex. xii. 29). See Pal. Targum,
Gen. xiv. i 5.
* This is based on the Haggadic interpretation of Isa. xli. 3. See
Pal. Targum, Gen. xiv. 16, and cf. T.B. Sjoihedrin, io8b; Zohar, Gen.
26a, and Gen. Rab., loc. cit.
* For the word in the text see 2 Sam. xvii. 22. Luria interprets :
" nothing of the wealth was missing."
* Our MS. omits " all."
' The first editions add here : " Abraham was afraid, and said :
Perchance I have slain all these troops (or, multitude), and no righteous
person can be found among them. The Holy One, blessed be He, said
to him: ' Fear not, Abram ' (Geii. xv. i). With reference to this it is
said : ' He pursueth them and passeth on -safely, even by a way that
he had not gone with his feet ' (Isa. xU. 3). It has not come on thy foot
to soil thee in this matter." See Shocher Tob, p. 233b.
* The first editions add : " son of Korchah."
* He was the chief priest then; see supra, pp. 53 f., and cf. J.E.
xi. 261 f. As we have seen, P.R.E. identifies Shem with Melchizedek ;
see Jubilees xiii. 25, especially Charles' note on pp. 100 f.
196 RABBI ELIEZER
Shem, the son of Noah, came forth to meet him,^ and when
he saw all the deeds which he had done and all the wealth
which he had brought back, || he wondered in his heart.
He began to praise, to glorify, and to laud the name of
the Most High, saying : " And blessed be God the Most
High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand "
{ibid.). Abraham arose and prayed before the Holy One,
blessed be He, saying : Sovereign of all worlds ! Not by
the power of my hand, nor by the power of my right hand
have I done all these things, but by the power of Thy right
hand with which Thou dost shield me in this world and in
the world to come, as it is said, " But thou, O Lord, art
a shield about me " (Ps. iii. 3) in this world ; " my glory,
and the lifter up of mine head" (ibid.)^ in the world to
come.^ The angels answered and said : Blessed art Thou,
O Lord, the shii Id of Abraham.*
' With bread and wine ; see Gen. xiv. i8.
2 The first editions read : " ' But thou, O Lord, art a shield about
me ; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head ' (Ps. iii. 3) in the world
to come."
^ See next chapter. According to the Midrash, Ps. ex. refers to
Abraham; see Shocher Tob, pp. 2^<a, b.
* See Singer, p. 44. These angelic words form the end of the
first benediction of the Shemoneh 'Esreh. Other chapters of P.R.E.
terminate with the last words of other benedictions of this Prayer.
This fact is not mentioned in the annotated edition of Singer's Prayer
Book. From this aspect our book forms a Midrash on the Shemoneh
'Esreh. See Rokeach, 322, and G^n. Rab. xli\. 4. See al o Snach (h.
X.*) in A. and P. i. p. 515. Tiie last chapter of our book probably
ended with the words printed in the "contents of the chapters" in
the Venice edition (1544) and in later editions thus: "Blessed art
Thou, O Lord, who healest the sick of Thy people Israel." This is
the eighth benediction of the Shemoneh 'Esreh. See Singer, p. 47.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM (continued)
The Vision between the Pieces [32b. ii.]
The seventh trial (was as follows) : " After these things
the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying "
(Gen. XV. 1). To all the prophets He was revealed in a
vision,^ but to Abraham He was revealed ^ in a revelation
and in a vision. Whence do we know of the revelation ?
Because it is said, " And the Lord appeared unto him by
the oaks of Mamre " (ibid, xviii. 1). Whence do we know of
the vision ? Because it is said, " After these things the word
of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision " {ibid. xv. 1).
He said to him : Abraham ! Do not fear, for My right hand
is shielding thee in every place where thou goest ; ^ it is like
a shield * against misfortunes, and it gives thee a good
reward, (even) to thee and to thy children, || in this world and
in the world to come, as it is said, " Thy exceeding great
reward " {ibid.) J"
^ The first editions add : " he appeared in a vision of the night."
Instead of reading " of the night," Luria holds that the reading should
be, "or in a revelation." This passage was possibly the authority
used by Maimonides in dealing with the subject of prophecy ; see his
Hilkhoth Jesode Ha-Torah vi. 2 and 6. For Luria's suggested reading see
Lev. Rab. i. 4. On " vision and revelation" see Gen. Rab. xliv. (>.
^ The first editions read : " but to Abraham in a vision and in a
revelation. Whence do we know of the vision ? Because it is said :
' In a vision saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield ' (Gen. xv. i)
in this world ; ' thy exceeding great reward ' {ibid.) in the world to
come." See Pal. Targum, in loc, and Gen. Rab., loc. cit.
^ Cf. Isa. xli. 10, 13.
*Cf. Abothiv. 15.
* The Midrashim and Pal. Targum (Gen. xv. i) interpret the fear
of Abraham as implying that his victory was his entire recompense
for his life's devotion to the cause of God. This would be covered by
the word of the text, " Thy reward " ; " exceeding great " would imply
the reward in the future life.
»97
198 RABBI ELIEZER
Rabbi ^ said : The Holy One, blessed be He, brought
Abraham outside (his house) on the night of Passover,'-
and He said to him : Abraham ! Hast thou the ability to
count all the host of heaven ? He said before Him :
Sovereign of all worlds ! Is there then a limit to Thy
troops ^ (of angels) ? He said to him : Likewise thy seed
shall not be counted owing to their great number, as it
is said, " And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be "
{ibid. 5).*
Rabbi Eliezer ^ said : The Holy One, blessed be He,
showed to our father Abraham (at the covenant) between
the pieces ® the four kingdoms, their dominion and their
downfall, as it is said, " And he said unto him, Take me an
heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old "
{ibid. 9). " An heifer of three years old " {ibid.) refers to the
kingdom of Edom," which is like the heifer of a sheep.
" And a she-goat of three years old " {ibid.) refers to
the kingdom of Greece,^ as it is said, " And the he-goat
magnified himself exceedingly " (Dan. viii. 8). " And a
ram of three years old " (Gen. xv. 9) ; this is the kingdom
of Media and Persia, as it is said, " And the ram which
thou sawest that had the two horns, they are the kings of
Media and Persia " (Dan. viii. 20). " And a turtle-dove
5>
1 i.e. Jehudah the Prince. The first editions read : " Rabbi
Jehudah."
^ The attack of Amraphel was also on the Passover night ; see
Pal. Targum, Gen. xi\-. i ^, and cf. Passover Haggadah Oz Rob Nissim
and the poem Omez Geburathekha. The chief references for these
traditions are : Mekhilta, Bo, p. 3;! ; Pal. Targum on Ex. xii. 42, trans-
lated in Rabbinic I'hilosophy and Ethics, pp. 164 f. See also Seder 'Olam
Rab. V. T. p. lib. Is there perhaps a reference h re to the triennial
reading of the Law, this section in Genesis being read on Passover ?
' This is based on Job xxv. 3 ; see T.B. Chagigah, 13b, and Siphre,
Numb. § 42.
* The rest of this chapter is missing in Luria's edition. It is to be
found in the old editions, e.g. Venice, Prague, Amsterdam. There is
no reason to dispute its authenticity. The Censor is probably respon-
sible for Luria's omission. His book was printed in Warsaw.
^ The first editions read '"Akiba."
* See Gen. xv. 9 ff. For a Christian Midrash on this theme see
Methodius, Banquet oj the Ten Virgins, v. 2.
' The Roman Empire is referred to under this designation. Some
of the old editions read, " Seir." " Edom " is the usual term for the
Roman Empire. MS. Gaster adds: "This is the lourth Kingdom."
^ On the kingdoms, Greece and Rome, see 4 Ezra v. 3 ; Rev. xvii. ;
Lactantius, Divme Institutes, vii. 15. " In the Johannine Apocalypse,"
says Bousset, Antichrist, E.T., p. 126, "the Roman Empire is plainly
enough indicated as the last anti-Christian power."
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 199
(Gen. XV. 9) ; this refers to the sons of Ishmael.i xhis
expression is not to be understood in the Hteral meaning
of Tor (turtle-dove), but in the Aramaic language, in which
Tor means Ox, for when the male ox is harnessed to the
female, they will open and break all the valleys,^ even as
it says (about) " the fourth beast " (Dan. vii. 19).3 " And
a young pigeon " (Gen. xv. 9) ; this refers to the Israelites,
who are compared || to a young pigeon, as it is said, " O my
dove, thou art in the clefts of the rock " (Cant. ii. 14). For
thy voice is pleasant in prayer, and thy appearance is beauti-
ful in good deeds. " And a young pigeon " (Gen. xv. 9) ; this
refers to the Israelites, who are compared to a young pigeon :
" My dove, my perfect (one), is (but) one " (Cant. vi. 9).*
Rabbi Acha ben Jacob said : This expression, " three
years old" (Gen. xv. 9), is said only with reference to the
mighty in power, as it is said, " And a threefold cord is
not quickly broken " (Eccles. iv. 12).^
Rabbi Mesharshyah ^ said : (Three years old) refers to
a threefold (dominion) which they would exercise three
times in the future in the land of Israel. At the first time
each one would rule by himself ; at the second time two
together (would rule) ; on the third occasion (all) altogether
to fight against the house of David,^ as it is said, " The
1 The Mohammedan Empire. Is this an indication of the date
of our bo^k ? It fixes a limit, in the sense that it must have been
written after the rise of the Mohammedan Empire. We shall have
ground for asserting that the beginning of the ninth century is
probably the earliest date of the final redaction of our book.
2 See Gen. Rab. Ixxvi. 6. The first editions read : " they will open
and break the (clods of) all the valleys. For phraseology of. Isa. xxviii.
24: "to open and break the clods " of the ground. The next words
about the fourth beast are not in the printed editions.
^ The entire passage in the first editions reads thus : " This (ex-
pression) Tor (turtle dove) is not said here in the language of the
Torah {i.e. Hebrew), but in the Aramaic language. Tor is the ox, and
when the male ox is harnessed to the female they will open and break
(the ground of) all the valleys."
* The Oxford MS. (O.A. 1O7) reads: "Another explanation. 'A
young pigeon ' refers to Israel, as it is said, ' My dove, my perfect (one),
is (but) one ' " (Cant. vi. 9).
* The Oxford MS. (O.A. 167) reads : " Rabbi Acha ben Jacob said :
What is the meaning of this expression, ' three years old ' ? It refers to
the mighty in power, (who are) like a threefold cord, as it is said," etc.
On R. Acha ben Jacob, see J.E. i. p. 278.
* There were several teachers so named ; J.E. viii. 502b gives one
only.
"7 Messianic wars are referred to here. The first editions read :
" to fight against the Son of David."
200 RABBI ELIEZER
kings of the earth set themselves,^ and the rulers take
counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed "
(Ps. ii. 2).
Rabbi Joshua said : Abraham took his sword and divided
them, eaeh one into two parts, as it is said, " And he took
him all these, and he divided them in the midst " (Gen.
XV. 10). Were it not for the fact that he divided them, the
world would not have been able to exist, but because he
divided them, he weakened their strength, and he brought
each part against its corresponding part, as it is said, " And
he laid each half over against the other " (ibid.). And the
young pigeon he left alive, as it is said, " But the bird he
divided not " (ibid.). Hence thou mayest learn that there
was not any other bird there excejat a young pigeon. ^ The
bird of prey came down upon them || to scatter them and to
destroy them.^ " The bird of prey " is nought else but
David, the son of Jesse,* who is compared to a " speckled
bird of prey," as it is said, " Is mine heritage unto me as a
speckled bird of prey ? " (Jer. xii. 9).
When the sun was about to rise in the east, Abraham sat
down and waved his scarf over them, so that the bird of
prey should not prevail over them until the raven came.^
Rabbi Ela?ar ben 'A?ariah said : From this incident thou
mayest learn that the rule of these four kingdoms will only
last one day ^ according to the day of the Holy One, blessed
be He. Rabbi Ela?ar ben 'Arakh said unto him : Verily it
is so, according to thy word, as it is said, " He hath made
me desolate and faint all the day " (Lam. i. 13), except for
* The quotation ends here in the MS.
2 The first editions read : " Hence thou mayest learn that the
word Zippor in the Torah means only a young pigeon."
^ Pal. Targ. Gen. xv. ii reads: "And there came down people
who were like unto an unclean bird, to steal away the sacrifices of Israel ;
but the merit of Abram was a shield over them."
* The first editions read : " is nought else but the Son of David."
See Hastings' D.B. iv. p. 6ioa, on " the speckled bird." This passage,
in its Messianic interpretation, has escaped the notice of Schottgen.
* The first editions read : " until evening set in." This seems a
better reading. Cf. Jubilees xi. ii.
' The one day of God is looo yeai's, see supra, p. 128. Do the four
kingdoms referred to by Daniel begin with the Greek persecutions under
Antiochus Epiphanes, 168 b.c.e., so that the end of these hostile king-
doms was to be expected about 1000 years later, i.e. about 832 c.e. ? If
so, this is another indication as to the date of our book. It would not
be later than this date (832 c.e.). Accordingly, we may fix the date
of its final redaction in the early years of the ninth century.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 201
two-thirds of an hour (of God). Know that it is so. Come
and see, for when the sun turns to set in the west, (during)
two hours 1 its power is weakened,^ and it has no Hght,
likewise whilst the evening has not yet come, the light of
Israel shall arise,^ as it is said, " And it shall come to pass,
that at evening time there shall be light " (Zech. xiv. 7).
Abraham arose and prayed before the Holy One, blessed
be He, that his children should not be enslaved by these
four kingdoms. A deep sleep fell upon him, and he slept,
as it is said, " A deep sleep fell upon Abram " (Gen. xv.
12). Does then a man lie down and sleep, and yet be able
to pray ? But this teaches thee that Abraham was lying
down and sleeping because of the intensity of his prayer
that his children might enslave || these four kingdoms,^ as it
is said, " And, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon
him " (ibid.).^ " Horror " refers to the kingdom of Edom,
as it is written, " And behold a fourth beast, terrible and
powerful, and strong exceedingly " (Dan. vii. 7). "Dark-
ness " is the kingdom ^ of those who darken the eyes of
Israel (by preventing the observance of) all the precepts
which are in the Torah. " Great " (Gen. xv. 12) refers to the
kingdom of Media and Persia, which was great (enough to
be able to afford) to sell Israel for nought.^ "Fell" (ibid.)
refers to the kingdom of Babylon, because in their hand fell
the crown ^ of Israel, as it is said, " Babylon is fallen, is
fallen " (Isa. xxi. 9). " Upon him " (Gen. xv. 12) refers to the
1 The first editions read : " two-thirds of an hour."
2 The 1st ed. reads : " remain over." The Venice edition omits
this and reads instead : " it is dark and it has no hght." The words
" it is dark " is an error, and should be " its strength fails."
^ The first editions read: "the Son of David will cause the light of
Israel to arise." Cf. the use of " Zemach " (Dayspring) as a Messianic
title in Hellenism and Christianity, pp. iig f.
* The first editions read here : " that his children might escape
these four kingdoms." In the preceding words the first editions read :
" and sleeping and he prayed " that his children, etc.
° Cf. Pal. Targ., in loc, for a different reading ; see also Gen. Rab.
xli\'. i8 ; Ex. Rab. li. 7 ; Pesikta de R. Kahana, 42b.
® The first editions read : " the kingdom of Greece." See also
Shocher Tob, Ps. lii. 8, pp. 143b f. ; and Lev. Rab. xiii. 5. The idea in
our context has a parallel in Wisdom x^-iii. 4.
' See Esth. iii. 11 : " And the king said to Haman : The silver is
given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to
thee."
* i.e. the Temple of God at Jerusalem. In the printed editions the
quotation from Isa. xxi. 9 is missing.
202 RABBI ELIEZER
Ishmaelites, upo7i whom the Son of David will flourish,i as it
is said, " His enemies will I clothe with shame : ^ but upon
him shall his crown flourish " (Ps. cxxxii. 18).
Rabbi Ze'era ^ said : These kingdoms were created only
as fuel for Gehinnom, as it is said, "Behold, a smoking
furnace,'' and a flaming torch that passed " (Gen. xv. 17).
Here the word " furnace " ^ signifies only Gehinnom, which
is compared to a furnace, as it is said, " Saith the Lord,
whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem " (Isa.
xxxi. 9).
1 Or it might mean " arise " ; cf. supra, p. 2oi, note 3.
-In the MS. the quotation ends here, "etc." being added; in
the first editions the verse is continued.
^ The printed editions read " 'Azariah."
* Pal. Targ., in loc, renders : " And lo, Abram saw Gehinnom bring-
ing up flaming coals and burning flakes of fire, wherein the wicked are
to be judged." See Jer. Targum, in loc, and cf. also Gen. Rab. .xhv.
•21 ; Apoc. Banichiv. 4; and 4 Ezra iii. 14 (ed. Box), p. 12, note a.
* The first editions read : " ' Furnace ' and ' torch ' refer only to
Gehinnom, as it is said," etc. The readings preserv^ed in the Jal'kut,
Gen. § jy, and the Midrash Haggadol, c. 234, should be compared with
our text. Beer's Leben Abraham' s should also be consulted for further
references to the Midrashic sources.
CHAPTER XXIX
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM (continued)
The Covenant of Circumcision [33b. ii.]
The eighth trial (was as follows) : " And when Abram was
ninety-nine years old " (Gen. xvii. 1),^ the Holy One, blessed
be He, said to him : Until now thou hast not been perfect
before Me ; but circumcise the flesh of thy foreskin, and
" walk before me, and be thou perfect" - (ibid.). Moreover,
the foreskin is a reproach, as it is said, " For that is a
reproach unto us " {ibid, xxxiv. 14), because the foreskin
is more unclean than all unclean things, as it is said, " For
henceforth there shall no more || come into thee the uncir-
cumcised and the unclean " (Isa. lii. 1). For the foreskin is
a blemish above all blemishes. Circumcise the flesh of thy
foreskin and be perfect.
Rabban Gamaliel said : Abraham sent and called for
Shem,^ the son of Noah, and he circumcised the flesh of the
foreskin of our father Abraham,^ and the flesh of the fore-
skin of Ishmael his son, as it is said, " In the selfsame day
was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son " ^ (Gen.
xvii. 26). " In the selfsame day " (means) in the might of
the sun at midday.^ Not only that, but (it indicates) the
' The first editions add : " the Holy One, blessed be He, said to
him, ' Walk before me, and be thou perfect ' " (Gen. xvii. i).
2 See IVIidrash Agadah, Gen. xvii. 21, p. 36.
' On Abraham's circumcision see Gen. Rab. xlvi. 4 and xlvii. 8.
Shem was bom circumcised; see Jalkut, Gen. § 80; J.E. xi. 261 ; Hip-
polytus (ed. Achelis), p. 91 ; and Jerome, Ep. cxxvi. quoted by Rahmer,
op. cit. p. 72.
* See Agadath Bereshith, p. 35, and Tanchuma Vayera, § ii.
^ Luria thinks that the rest of the verse, " And also all those born
in his house," etc., is missing in our text.
* And then it is at its zenith. See Gen. Rab. xlvii. 9; Rashi on
Gen., in loc. ; and Lekach Tob, in loc.
203
204 RABBI ELIEZER
tenth day of the month,^ the Day of Atonement. It is
written in connection with the Day of Atonement, " Ye
shall do no manner of work on that selfsame day, for it is
a day of atonement " (Lev. xxiii. 28) ; and in the present
instance the text says, " In the selfsame day was Abraham
circumcised " (Gen. xvii, 26). Know then that on the Day of
Atonement Abraham our father was circumcised. ^ Every
year the Holy One, blessed be He, sees the blood of our
father Abraham's circumcision, and He forgives all the sins
of Israel, as it is said, " For on this day^ shall atonement be
made for you, to cleanse you " (Lev. xvi. 30). In that place
where Abraham was circumcised and his blood remained,
there the altar was built,* and therefore, " And all the
blood thereof shall he pour out at the base of the altar "
{ibid. iv. 30). (It says also),^ " I said unto thee. In thy
blood, live ; ^ yea, I said unto thee, In thy blood, live "
(Ezek. xvi. 6).
Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa said : All who are circumcised
have (excessive) pain on the third day, as it is said, " And it
came to pass on the third day, when they were sore " (Gen.
xxxiv. 25).^ They may wash || the child on the third day,^ when
it happens to fall on the Sabbath, and all things necessary for
a circumcision ^ are permitted to be done on the Sabbath. ^^
1 Tishri, the 7th month.
2 This is mentioned by Tosaphoth to T.B. Rosh Ha-Shanah, iia,
catchword " But." The story is given by R. Bechai, Comm. on Gen., in
loc, with a different reading; see also Midrash Agadan, Gen. xvii. 21.
According to T.B. Baba Mezi'a, Sob, the circumcision of Abraham took
place on Passover. Jubilees xxxi\ . iS speaks of the instiiuiion of tlie
Day of Atonement in connection with Joseph. Our author, in his
opposition to Jubilees, connects the Day of Atonement with the Hfe of
Abraham. Such variant traditions are common to all histories; cf.
Usener, " Weihnachsfest," for the different dates observed by the
Church to celebrate the birthday of the Founder of the Christian faith.
^ i.e. the event that marked this day, namely, the circumcision of
the Founder of the Hebrew religion. The circumcision of the Founder
of the Christian Church is now observed annually on ist January.
* Mount Moriah. Cf. the legends of Golgotha and Akeldama, see
Jerome, Com. in Eph. v. 14.
* The last two sentences of this paragranh arc wanting in the
Oxford MS.
* The MS. omits here the second half of the verse ; it occurs in the
first editions.
' The first editions add : " Accordingly the sages have taught."
» After birth. This is a Mishnah in T.B. Sabbath xix. 3. 134b, and
cf. Talkut, Gen. § 135.
■9 See T.B. Sabbath, 112a.
'» See T.B. Sabbath, i2Sb and 133a.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 205
Every uncircumcised (man) shall not eat (of the Paschal
offering), and shall not touch the sanctuary. He who
separates himself from circumcision is like one separated
from the Holy One, blessed be He.
Rabban Gamaliel, ^ the son of Rabbi Jehudah the Prince,
said : When our father Abraham was circumcised, on the
third day he was very sore,- in order to test him.^ What
did the Holy One, blessed be He, do ? He pierced one hole
in the midst of Gehinnom, and He made the day hot, like
the day of the wicked.^ He ^ went forth, and sat down at
the entrance of the tent in the cool of the day, as it is said,
" And he sat at the tent door (in the heat of the day) " {ibid.
xviii. 1). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the minister-
ing angels : Come ye, let us descend and visit the sick, for
the virtue of visiting the sick is great before Me.^ The
Holy One, blessed be He, and the angels descended to visit
our father Abraham, as it is said, " And the Lord appeared
unto him " (ibid.). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to
the ministering angels : Come ye and see ye ^ the power of
circumcision.** Before Abraham was circumcised he felP
on his face (before Me), and afterwards I spake with him,
as it is said, " And Abraham fell upon his face " (ibid.
xvii. 17). Now that he is circumcised he sits and I stand.
Whence do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, was
standing ? Because it is said, " And he looked, and, lo,
three men stood over against him " [ibid, xviii. 2).
^ This is Gamaliel ii., to be distinguished from his grandfather
Gamaliel i. mentioned previously.
2 The pain on the third day was made exceptionally severe in
order to test Abraham. This was the eighth trial according to our
Book.
3 See AgadathBereshith, pp. 37ff., and Jalkut,Gen. § S 2, which reads :
" What did He do to try him ? He pierced an aperture in Gehinnom."
* See T.B. Baba Mezi'a, Sub, and see infra, p. 416, and cf.
'Arukh, ed. Kohut, v. 390, s.v. pmj, and ibid. p. 20, s.v. d.iS. There is
no eternal Gehenna in the future life, only a day of heat ; see T.B.
Nedarim, 8b.
* i.e. Abraham.
* Cf. supra, pp. 89, 107.
' This expression is a characteristic of our author.
8 On Circumcision see J.E. iv. 92 ff., and on '"Orlah" see ibid. ix.
435-
® Pal. Targum, Gen. xvii. 17, reads : And because Abraham
was not circumcised he was not able to stand, but he bowed himself
upon his face." Balaam also fell down when receiving the Divine
oracles.
206 RABBI ELIEZER
Rabbi Ze'era || said : There are five ^ kinds of Orlah (things
iincircumcised) in the world : four with reference to man,
and one concerning trees. Whence do we know this con-
cerning the four (terms) applying to man ? (Namely,) the
uncircumcision of the ear, the uncircumcision of the lips,
the uncircumcision of the heart, and the uncircumcision of
the flesh. Whence do we know of the uncircumcision of the
ear ? Because it is said, " Behold, their ear is uncircum-
cised " (Jer. vi. 10). Whence do we know of the vmcircum-
cision of the lips ? Because it is said, " For I am of un-
circumcised lips " (Ex. vi. 12). Whence do we know of
the uncircumcision of the heart ? Because it is said,
" Circumcise the foreskin of your heart " (Deut. x. 16) ;
and (the text) says, " For all the nations are uneircumcised,
and all the house of Israel are uneircumcised in heart "
(Jer. ix. 26). Whence do we know of the uncircumcision
of the flesh ? Because it is said, " And the uneircumcised
male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin "
(Gen. xvii. 14). And " all the nations are uneircumcised "
in all the four cases, and " all the house of Israel are uneir-
cumcised in heart." The uncircumcision of the heart does
not suffer Israel to do the will of their Creator. And in the
future the Holy One, blessed be He, will take away from
Israel the uncircumcision of the heart, and they will not
harden their stubborn (heart) any more before their Creator,
as it is said, " And I will take away the stony heart ^ out
of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh " (Ezek.
xxxvi. 26) ; and it is said, " And ye shall be circumcised in
the flesh of your foreskin " ^ (Gen. xvii. 11). Whence do we
know concerning the one ('Orlah) for trees ? * Because it
is said, " And when ye shall come into the land, and shall
have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall
1 See Gen. Rab. xlvi. 5. The tractate of 'Orlah in the Mishnah,
Tosephta, and Jerushalmi deals with the " uncircumcision " of trees
based on Lev. xix. 23-25.
2 In the MS. the quotation ends here ; in the first editions it is con-
tinued as in our version. The MS. adds " etc."
^ The first editions read : " And ye shall circumcise the foreskin of
your flesh," which is not an actual quotation, but a combination of
Gen. xvii. 11 and Deut. x. 16. The MS. originally read : " the foreskin
of your heart," which has been deleted.
* In addition to the Mishnah and Tosephta on '"Orlah" see
Maimonides, Ma'akhaloth 'Asuroth. x. 9 ff. According to T.B.
Kiddushin, 37a, the law of 'Orlah is limited to Palestine.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 207
count the fruit thereof as their uncircumcision : ^ three years
shall they be as vuicircumcised unto you " (Lev. xix. 23).
Rabbi Ze'era ^ taught : The tree || which is mentioned
here is none other than the vine tree.^ If they do not cut
off from the tree the fruit of the first three years, all the
fruit which it yields will be gleanings fit to be pluckt off,
and not good ; and its wine will be disqualified for the
altar ; but if they cut off from the tree the fruit of the first
three years, all the fruit which it yields will be good for
the sight, and their wine will be selected to be brought
upon the altar. So with our father Abraham ; before he
was circumcised, the fruit which he produced was not good
[in its effects,^ and was disqualified from the altar; but
when he had been circumcised, the fruit which he produced
was good in its effects,^ and his wine] ^ was chosen to be
put upon the altar like wine for a libation, as it is said,
" And wine for the drink offering " (Num. xv. 5).
Rabbi ^ said : Abraham did not delay aught ^ with reference
to all (things) which He commanded him, as it is said, " And
he that is eight days old shall be circumcised " (Gen. xvii. 12) ;
and when Isaac was born, (and when) he was eight days
old (Abraham) brought him to be circumcised, as it is said,
" And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was
eight days old " {ibid. xxi. 4). Hence thou mayest learn
that everyone who brings his son for circumcision is as
though (he were) a high priest bringing his meal offering
and his drink offering upon the top of the altar.^ Hence
* In the MS. the quotation ends here.
2 The first editions read " Zerika." On " ?e'era " see J.E. xii. 651 f.,
and on " Zerika" see ibid. 662.
^ See Joreh Di'ah, 294. For a similar law see Jubilees vii. i and
35-38. All trees bearing fruit fit to be eaten were subject to this law ;
cf. Ezek. xvii. 5 ff. It is very remarkable that our author restricts the
law of 'Orlah to the vine, which the Rabbis included among the fruit-
bearing trees ; see Siphra, 90a.
* With reference to Ishmael. See Jalkut, Gen. § 81.
* With reference to Isaac.
* This portion in square brackets is missing in the MS., but un-
doubtedly it must be supplied ; it occurs in the first editions.
' The first editions read : " Rabbi Ishmael." This section occurs
in a later part of the chapter in the printed texts.
* See T.B. Pesachim, 4a.
^ This sentence is not in the printed texts. The first editions read :
" And he brought him (as) a meal offering upon the top of the altar,
and he made festivities and a banquet." See Shocher Tob, Ps. cxii.
p. 2T4b. This Midrash has used our book. Some of the printed texts
208 RABBI ELIEZER
the sages said : A man is bound to make festivities and a
banquet on that day when he has the merit of having his
son 1 circumcised, Hke Abraham our father, who circumcised
his son, as it is said, " And Abraham circumcised l| his son
Isaac " - (ibid.).
Rabbi Jochanan said : All heathens who come to Israel
are circumcised by their own freewill and with their consent,
and in the fear of Heaven are they circumcised. We do
not believe a proselyte until seven generations (have passed),
so that the waters should not return to their source.^ But
slaves arc circumcised both by their freewill and with their
consent as well as without their consent, and no confidence
is placed in slaves. Likewise with all the slaves who were
circumcised with our father Abraham, they did not remain
true (converts) in Israel, neither they nor their seed, because
it is said, " All the men of his house, those born in the
house,^ and those bought with money of the stranger, were
circumcised mth him " {ibid. xvii. 27). Why did he cir-
cumcise them ? Because of purity, so that they should
not defile their masters with their food and with their
drink, for whosoever eateth with an uncircumcised person
is as though he were eating flesh of abomination.^ All
who bathe ^vith the uncircumcised are as though they
bathed with carrion,^ and all who touch an uncircumcised
person are as though they touched the dead, for in their
lifetime they are like (the) dead ; ^ and in their death they
read: "he presented him Uke an offering" (by circumcision). See
Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit., and Tania Rabbathi, 96 (od. Warsaw), p. loib.
i See Tosaphoth on Sabbath, 130a ; Joreh Di'ah, 265.
2 The first editions do not use this quotation, but " And Abraham
made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned " (Gen. xxi. 8).
This was not the day of circumcision. But just as Abraham made a
feast at the weaning of his son, it was inferred that he had also made a
feast at the circumcision.
* To test whether they might revert to their former idolatry. Cf .
T.B. Synhedrin, 94a, and'Midrash Haggadol, c. 2,57.
* The quotation ends here in the MS.
* The first editions read : "as though he were eating with a dog.
]ust as the dog is not circumcised so the uncircumcised person is not
circumcised." For parallel N.T. teaching see Phil. iii. 2 and Eph.
ii. II.
* The first editions read : " a leper." Sec Maimonides, On Idolatry,
vii. 18.
' Cf . Matt. viii. 22, where the Jews are referred to as " the dead." Th •
lieathens or Gentiles were, according,' to the N.'l"., believed to be under
the control of Satan (see 2 Cor. vi. 15-18; and cf. i Cor. x. 19 and
xii. 2) and therefore children of death (see H^b. ii. 14 f.), whereas the
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 209
are like the carrion of the beast,^ and their prayer does not
come before the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said,
" The dead praise not the Lord " (Ps. cxv. 17). But Israel
who are circumcised, their prayer comes before the Holy
One, blessed be He, || like a sweet savour, as it is said, " But
we will bless the Lord - from this time forth and for evermore.
Praise ye the Lord " {ibid. 18).
Rabbi said : Isaac circumcised Jacob, and Esau ; ^ and
Esau despised the covenant of circumcision just as he
despised the birthright, as it is said, " So Esau despised
his birthright " (Gen. xxv. 34). Jacob clung to the covenant
of circumcision, and circumcised his sons and his grandsons.
Whence (do we know) that the sons of Jacob were circum-
cised ? Because it is said, " Only on this condition will
the men consent unto us to dwell ^ with us . . . if every
male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised."
{ibid, xxxiv. 22). Another text says, " Only on this con-
dition will we consent unto you : if ye will be as we be "
{ibid. 15).^ Hence thou canst learn that the sons of Jacob
were circumcised. The sons of Jacob circumcised their
sons and their grandsons. They gave it to them as an
inheritance for an everlasting statute, until Pharaoh the
Wicked arose ® and decreed harsh laws concerning them,
believers or Christians are the only ones who really live (cf . Rom. v.
12-21, ibid. i. ib-32, ibid. vi. 13, and ibid. viii. b-io). The Ephesians,
formerly " Gentiles in the flesh who are called Uncircumcision " (Eph.
ii. 11), are addressed thus : "You who were dead in trespass and sins"
{ibid. i).
1 The first editions read : "of the field." A parallel to the teaching
of this section is to be found in the doctrine so strongly emphasized by
Paul that the Christians should not partake of " the things which the
Gentiles sacrifice" (i Cor. x. 20). Jesus also said, "Give not that
which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine,
lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you "
(Matt. vii. 6). On " Dog " as applied to non-Christians in the New
Testament and Christian literature, see Jewish Sources of the Sermon
on the Mount, pp. 219 fi. See also Jubilees xv. 26. The Church
Councils prohibited Christians eating with the Jews, see Apostolic Con-
stitutions, ii. 62 and viii. 47.
2 The quotation ends here in the MS., it is continued in the first
editions.
3 Jubilees xv. 30 says of Esau : " the Lord did not cause him to
approach him." See Jalkut. Gen. § 116.
* In the MS the quotation ends here.
» This quotation is not in the printed texts. The verse continues :
" that every male of you be circumcised."
* See Eccles. Rab. on Eccles. ix. 12 ; Ruth Rab. Proem. (<. Accord-
ing to Num. Rab. xv. 12, only the tribe of Levi kept the rite of circum-
14
210 RABBI ELTEZER
and withheld from them the covenant of circumcision.
And on the day when the children of Israel went forth
from Egypt all the people were circumcised, both young
and old, as it is said, " For all the people that came out
were circumcised " (Josh. v. 5).
The Israelites took the blood of the covenant of circum-
cision,^ and they put (it) - upon the lintel of their houses,
and when the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over to plague
the Egyptians, He saw the blood of the covenant of circum-
cision upon the lintel of their houses and the blood of the
Paschal lamb. He was filled || with compassion ^ on Israel, as
it is said, " And when I passed by thee, and saw thee
weltering in thy (twofold) blood,* I said unto thee. In thy
(twofold) blood, live ; yea, I said unto thee. In thy (two-
fold) blood, live " (Ezek. xvi. 6). " In thy blood " is not
written here, but in " thy (twofold) blood," with twofold
blood, the blood of the covenant of circumcision and the
blood of the Paschal lamb ; therefore it is said, " I said unto
thee, In thy (twofold) blood, live ; yea, I said unto thee.
In thy (twofold) blood, live " (ibid.).
Rabbi Eliezer said : Why ^ did the text say twice,
" I said unto thee. In thy blood, live ; yea, I said unto thee,
In thy blood, hve " ? But the Holy One, blessed be He,
said : By the merit of the blood of the covenant of circum-
cision and the blood of the Paschal lamb ye shall be redeemed
from Egypt, and by the merit of the covenant of circum-
cision and by the merit of the covenant of the Passover in
the future ye shall be redeemed at the end of the fourth
kingdom ; ^ therefore it is said, " I said unto thee, In
cision in Egypt ; the other tribes refused to obey in this matter. See
Ex. Rab. i. 20, and xix. 5; Tanna de be Ehjahu Rab. xxiii. p. 123;
and Siphre, Num. § 67.
' The first editions add : " and the blood of the Paschal lamb." See
Pal. Targum on Ex. xii. i ^, which reads, " And the blood of the Paschal
offering and the rite of circumcision shall be a guarantee to you, to
become a sign upon the houses where ye dwell " ; see also Mekhilta (on
Ex. xii. ()) p. 5a, Zohar, Lev. 95a, and Num. Rab. xiv. 12.
-The first editions read "them," i.e. the blood of the circumcision
as well as the blood of the Paschal lamb.
^ The root " Pasach " (nos) means to spare, hence to be com-
passionate.
* The quotation ends here in the MS. ; in the first editions it is con-
tinued.
* Lit. " For what purpose did the text see to say."
* At the Messianic redemption.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 211
thy blood, live ; yea, I said unto thee, In thy blood, live "
{ibid.).^
There are three afflictions,^ (namely,) the affliction of
the fast, the affliction of the prison, and the affliction of
the road.3 Whence do we know of the affliction of the fast ?
(Because it is said,) ^ " I afflicted my soul with fasting "
(Ps. XXXV. 13). Whence do we know of the affliction of the
prison ? (Because it is said,) * " They hurt his feet with
fetters " (ibid. cv. 18). Whence do we know of the affliction
of the road ? (Because it is said,) ^ " He weakened my
strength in the way " {ibid. cii. 23). On account of the
affliction of the road, (the children of Israel) ^ did not
circumcise, and when they went forth from Egypt all the
people were circumcised, both young and old, as it is said,
" For all the people that came out were circumcised " ||
(Josh. V. 5).^
Rabbi Ishmael said : Did the uncircumcised ^ hear the
voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, on Mount Sinai,
saying, " I am the Lord thy God " (Ex. xx. 2) ? ' They
were circumcised, but not according to its regulation.^ They
had cut off the foreskin, but they had not uncovered the
corona. Everyone who has been circumcised, but has not
had the corona uncovered, is as though he had not been
circumcised, therefore the text says, " Israel was not
circumcised of old." ^
When they came to the land (of Canaan),i^ the Holy One,
blessed be He, said to Joshua : Joshua ! Dost thou not know
that the Israelites are not circumcised according to the proper
regulation ? He again circumcised them a second time, as
1 See Targum on Ezek. xvi. 6 ; and cf. infra, pp. 383 ff.
- See T.B. Nedarim, 31b, 32a ; T.B. Gittin, 70a ; Shocher Tob,
Ps. xxxi. p. i2ia; Lam. Rab. i. 50; T.B. Jebamoth, 71b, on the
danger of circumcision when one travels.
^ Or, journey.
* This is omitted by the MS., but it occurs in the first editions.
* The printed editions quote Josh. v. 7.
* i.e. the Israehtes.
' See Num. Rab. xi. 3, Cant. Rab. i. 12, and Shocher Tob, Pss.
p. 39a ; and cf . T.B. Jebamoth, 72a. The first editions add : " And
did He give them the Torah ? But, Heaven forbid ! They were
circumcised, but they did not have the corona uncovered."
* This refers to (nv<iBi " F'ri'ah" (having the corona uncovered).
9 This is not a Biblical quotation. Should Josh. v. 5 be quoted ?
1° The first editions read : " When the Israelites came to the land of
Israel."
212 RABBI ELIEZER
it is said, " The Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee knives
of flint,! and circumcise again the children of Israel a second
time " (Josh. V. 2). " And Joshua made him knives of flint "
{ibid. 3), and he gathered all the foreskins until he made
them (as high) as a hill, as it is said, " And he circumcised
the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins " (ibid.).
The Israelites took the foreskin and the blood - and covered
them with the dust ^ of the wilderness. When Balaam ^
came, he saw all the wilderness filled with the foreskins of
the Israelites, he said : Who will be able to arise by the
merit of the blood of the covenant of this circumcision,
which is covered by the dust ? as it is said, " Who can count
the dust of Jacob ? " (Num. xxiii. 10).
Hence || the sages instituted that they should cover the
foreskin and the blood with the dust of the earth,^ because
they ^ are compared to the dust of the earth, as it is said,
" And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth " (Gen.
xxviii. 14). Thus the Israelites were wont to circumcise
until they were divided into two kingdoms. The kingdom
of Ephraim cast off from themselves the covenant of circum-
cision.^ Elijah, may he be remembered for good, arose
and was zealous with a mighty passion, and he adjured the
heavens to send down neither dew nor rain upon the earth.
Jezebel heard (thereof), and sought to slay him. Elijah
arose and prayed before the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him : " Art thou
better than thy fathers ? " ^ Esau sought to slay Jacob,
1 The quotation ends here in the MS. ; in the first editions the latter
part of the verse only is given.
' The law of the covering of the blood is ascribed by Jubilees vii. 30
to Noah, who tells his sons : " and work ye a good work to your souls
bv covering that which has been shed on the face of the earth " ; see
also ibid. 31, 33. In opposition to Jubilees, our author transfers the
precept to Abraham.
* The Babylonian Jews appear to have used water to cover the blood
at the circumcision, whereas the Palestinian Jews used earth to cover
the blood and the foreskin after the circumcision. See Sha'are Zedek
V. 10 ; Tur Jorch Di'ah, 265 ; Zohar, Gen. 95a. Cf. Menorath Ha-Maor
§ Ixxx.
* The Veniceedition adds here: "the magician." See Jalkut,Gen.§7i .
^ See previous note 3 ; and see Chiluf Minhagim, ed. Miiller, pp.
18 f., and see also the Haggadic Commentary Sekhel Tob i. p. 19.
* The Israelites.
' Jubilees xv. 33 refers to the neglect of circumcision by the
children of Israel.
* Cf . I Kings xix. 4.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 213
but he fled before him/ as it is said, " And Jacob fled into
the field of Aram " ^ (Hos. xii. 12). Pharaoh sought to slay-
Moses, who fled before him and he was saved, as it is said,
" Now when Pharaoh heard this thing,^ he sought to slay-
Moses. And Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh " (Ex.
ii. 15). Saul sought to slay David, who fled before him
and was saved, as it is said, " If thou save not thy life
to-night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain " (1 Sam. xix. 11).*
Another text says, " And David fled and escaped " {ibid.
18). Learn that everyone, who flees, is saved. Elijah,
may he be remembered for good, arose and fled from the
land of Israel,^ |] and he betook himself to Mount Horeb, as
it is said, " And he arose, and did eat and drink " (1 Kings
xix. 8). There the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed
unto him, and He said to him : " What doest thou here,
Elijah ? " {ibid. 9). He answered Him, saying : " I have
been very zealous" {ibid. 10). (The Holy One, blessed
be) ^ He, said to him : Thou art always zealous ! "
Thou wast zealous in Shittim ^ on account of the im-
morality. Because it is said, " Phineas,^ the son of
Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest,^" turned my wrath
away from the children of Israel, in that he was zealous
with my zeal among them" (Num. xxv. 11). Here also art
thou zealous. By thy life ! They ^^ shall not observe the
1 The first editions add : " and he was saved."
2 See Jalkut. Ex. § i68, and Menorath Ha-Maor § Ixxx. Eventually
Jacob escaped from Laban, as well as from Esau. The first editions read :
" Esau attempted to sla\' Jacob, as it is said, ' The days of mourning
for my father are at hand ; then will I slay my brother Jacob ' " (Gen.
xxvii. 41).
3 In the MS. the quotation ends here ; the first editions quote the
latter part of the verse.
* The first editions quote (i Sam. xix. 1 1 ) only.
° To Horeb, which was outside Palestine.
* This is missing in the MS., but it occurs in the first editions.
"> See Cant. Rab. i. 6 ; Tanna de be Elijahu Zutta (viii.), p. 187 ;
Jalkut to I Kings § 217 ; Agadath Shir Ha-Shirim, p. 45, quoted by
Schechter in his Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, p. 205; see also ibid.,
p. 52, on EUjah's zeal.
* See infra, p. 370, and Jalkut. Gen. § 71.
9 Phineas is identified with Elijah. Just as we find in the New
Testament that John the Baptist was held to be EHjah, see Matt. xi.
14. According to some Jewish authorities Ehjah was a priest, see
Tanna de be Elijahu Rab. xviii. pp. 97 f. This legend occurs also in
the Book of the Bee (ed. Budge), p. 70.
1" In the MS. the quotation ends here.
" The first editions and Jalkut, loc. cit.. read " Israel,"
214 RABBI ELIEZER
covenant of circumcision until thou seest it (done) with
thine eyes.
Hence the sages ^ instituted (the custom) that people
should have a seat of honour for the Messenger of the
Covenant; for Elijah, may he be remembered for good, is
called the Messenger of the Covenant, as it is said, " And
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold,
he Cometh " (Mai. iii. 1).-
* See Tur, Joreh Diali, 21)5 ; Tania Rabbathi, 96, p. loia. and
Halakhoth Gedoloth quoted by Schorr in p'?nn, v. 38.1
^ The chair for EUjah is to this day a feature at every circumcision.
The MS. Gaster and the first editions add : " O God of Israel ! Hasten
and bring the Messiah in our lifetime to comfort us, and may he restore *
our hearts, as it is said : ' And he shall restore ^ the heart of the fathers
to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers ' " (Mai. iv.
6).* According to this reading the chapter closes with a rhyme.
Luria argues that as the verse quoted from Malachi speaks of Elijah,
the reading might originally have been " Elijah " in place of the word
" Messiah," or perhaps both words were in the context. See infra,
p. 344. The Oxford MS. reads the entire verse Mai. iii. i.
^ Dr. Buchler observes: "The earliest reference known besides
this, is R. Jacob b. Nissim of Kairwan about 970 c.e. Q"n mmiK (ed.
Schlesinger) 12 ; see also Giidema'in, Erziehungswesen in Italien, p. 28,
n. 4 ; Zunz, Zur Gesch., pp. 485. 590 ff. ; and Lewysohn, D'jnao mpo 93.
* Lit. " renew."
» The R.V. renders " turn."
* This is not the mission of the Messiah, but of Elijah, the great
Reconciler.
CHAPTER XXX
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM (continued)
Abraham and Ishmael [36a. ii.]
The ninth trial (was as follows) : Ishmael was born with
(the prophecy of the) bow,^ and he grew up with the bow,^
as it is said, " And God was with the lad, and he grew . . .^
and he became an archer " (Gen. xxi. 20). He took bow
and arrows and began to shoot at the birds.'* He saw Isaac
sitting by himself, and he shot an arrow ^ at him to slay
him.^ Sarah saw (this), and told Abraham. She said to
him : Thus and thus has Ishmael done to Isaac, but (now)
arise and write (a will in favour) of Isaac, (giving him) all
that the Holy One has sworn to give || to thee and to thy
seed.' The son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my
son, with Isaac, as it is said, " And she said unto Abraham,
Cast out this bondwoman and her son " {ibid. 10).
Ben Tema ^ said : Sarah said to Abraham, Write ^ a bill of
1 Perhaps the version should be, " Ishmael was born under (the
constellation) Sagittarius." The word " Kesheth " sometimes means
this constellation, or it might indicate " liarshness."
* Jalkut, Gen. § 94 reads : " Ishmael was born and grew up with
the bow." Cf. Isa. xxi. 15.
3 The quotation ends here in the MS. ; the first editions quote the
latter part of the verse only.
« See Tosephta Sotah vi. p. ^08 ; Jalkut, he. cit., and Gen. Rab. Uii.
15. The MS. reads ""Pugoth." This agrees with the Oxford MS.
" Puga " is identified with '"' Suga," the name of a bird. See T.B. Baba
Bathra, gob.
* MS. O.A. 167 reads : " the arrows." Sec Gen. Rab. liii. 11.
* Sec Lekach Tob, Gen. p. 47, note 20, for other parallels.
7 Cf. Geni. XV. "5 and xvii. 7. The first editions add : " By thy life."
Luria would read : " In thy hfe time " and connects it with the preceding
sentence : " Write in thy life time."
* This is missing in the printed editions and in Jalkut, Gen., loc, cit.,
but it occurs in MS. O.A. 167. Ben Tema was an Amora,
9 MS. O.A. 167 reads : " Arise and write."
215
216 RABBI ELIEZER
divorce,! and send away this handmaid and her son from
me and from Isaac my son, in this world and from the world
to come. More than all the misfortunes which overtook
Abraham, this matter was exceedingly evil in his eyes, as it
is said, " And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's
sight on account of his son " {ibid. 11).-
Rabbi Jehudah ^ said : In that night the Holy One, blessed
be He, was revealed unto him. He said to him : Abraham !
Dost thou not know that Sarah was appointed to thee for a
wife * from her mother's womb ? She is thy companion, and
the wife of thy covenant ; ^ Sarah is not called thy handmaid,
but thy wife ; ^ neither is Hagar called thy wife, but thy
handmaid ; and all that Sarah has spoken " she has uttered
truthfully. Let it not be grievous in thine eyes, as it is
said, " And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous
in thy sight " {ibid. 12).
Abraham rose up early,** and wrote a bill of divorce,
and gave it to Hagar, and he sent her and her son away from
himself, and from Isaac his son, from this world and from
the world to come, as it is said, " And Abraham rose up
early in the morning, and took ^ bread and a bottle of water "
{ibid. 14). He sent her away || with a bill of divorcement,
and he took the veil,!*' and he bound it around her waist, so
that it should drag behind her to disclose (the fact) that
she was a bondwoman. ^^ Not only this, but also because
^ See Pal. Targum, Gen. xxi. lo.
^ The Pal. Targum, Gen., loc. cit., explains that this was due to the
evil deeds of Ishmael in the future. The inference in our Midrash is
derived from the quotation, and it was only in this instance that Scripture
refers to the sorrow of Abraham. See Midrash Haggadol, c. 308.
3 MS. O.A. 167 adds : " the Prince."
* The Venice edition adds : " from her birth."
° i.e. the first wife. See Mai. ii. 14 ; and Targum, in loc, and cf.
Rashi on Mai. ii. 14.
" MS. O.A. 167 adds : " as it is said : ' And God said, But Sarah thy
wife ' " (Gen. xvii. 19). This verse is also given by the first editions.
' MS. O.A. 167 adds: " to thee."
' MS. O.A. 167 adds : " in the morning." See Midrash Haggadol,
c. 309.
* In the MS. the quotation ends here, but " etc. " is added. The
first editions and MS. O.A. 167 continue the verse. Luria adds : " And
the child."
^^ See Jalkut, Gen. § 95, according to Jastrow, T.D. 1452b. for a
variant reading. Cf. Gen. Rab. liii. 13. The Venice edition reads
" water-barrel " ; cf. Siphre, Num. § 115, and Jalkut, Num. § 750, which
reads " water- barrel." Our MS. agrees with the text in the ist ed.
" See T.B. Baba Mezi'a, 87a.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 217
Abraham desired to see Ishmael, his son, and to see the way
whereon they went.
By the merit of our father Abraham the water did not fail
in the bottle, but when she reached the entrance to the
wilderness, she began to go astray after the idolatry of her
father's house ; ^ and forthwith the water in the bottle
was spent, as it is said, " And she departed and wandered "
(ibid.). Ishmael was seventeen ^ years old (when) he went
forth from the house of Abraham, and Isaac was forty ^
years old. By the merit of our father Abraham the water
did not fail in the bottle, but when she reached the entrance
to the wilderness, she began to go astray after the idolatry
of her father's house ; the water in the bottle was spent,^ and
the soul of Ishmael was faint with thirst.
"And she departed and wandered" (ibid.). The mean-
ing of " and she wandered " is merely idolatry, because
it is written, concerning (this root),^ " They are vanity, a
work of delusion " ^ (Jer. x. 15).' He went and cast himself
beneath the thorns of the wilderness,^ so that the moist-
ure might be upon him, and he said : O God of my father
Abraham ! ^ Thine are the issues of death ; take away from me
1 The first editions read: "the house of Pharaoh her father";
according to Rabbinic legend Hagar was the daughter of Pharaoh.
See supra, p. 190, Gen. Rab. xlv. 2, and the Book of Jashar xv. 31.
2 The Venice edition gives twenty-seven years for Ishmael's age.
3 The first editions read : " ten years." The " forty years " may
refer to Isaac's age when he married Rebecca and left his father's
house to dwell in Sarah's tent. It seems very probable that the MS.
reading is based on a copy which read " four " years. This was altered
by the writer of our MS. into " forty." Ishmael was thirteen years
older than Isaac, and as the former was seventeen years old when he
left Abraham's house Isaac must have been four years old. See
infra, p. 225. See Gen. Rab. liii. 13, according to which Ishmael was
twenty-seven years old; see also the Book of Jashar xxi. 14, Jalkut,
Gen., loo. cit., and Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit.
* The whole of this sentence thus far is an exact repetition of a few
lines above. See also Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit., for the same
circumstance.
^ Cf. Isa. xix. 13.
' The root of this word (j?nni) is connected apparently with the
Hebrew "to err" or " to wander" (nvn) ; see Zohar, Gen. ii8b.
' The previous verse refers to the images.
* Cf. Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit. The phraseology is based on Job xxx. 7.
This chapter is applied to Ishmael by the Midrash. The next few words
(up to " upon him ") are wanting in the printed texts.
^ Cf. the version of the prayer in Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit. The printed
editions of our book differ here from our MS. The first editions read
thus : " Sovereign of the Worlds ! If it be Thy pleasure to give me
water to drink, give me to drink and let not my soul depart because of
218 RABBI ELIEZER
my soul, for I would not die of thirst. And He was entreated
of him, as it is said, " For God hath heard the || voice of the
lad where he is" (Gen. xxi. 17). The welH which was
created at twilight "^ was opened for them there, and they
went and drank and filled the bottle with water, as it is
said, " And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of
water " {ibid. 19). And there ^ they left the well,* and thence
they started on their way,^ and went through all the wilder-
ness until they came to the wilderness of Paran, and they
found there streams of water, and they dwelt there, as it is
said, " And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran " (ibid. 21).
Ishmael sent for a wife from among the daughters ^ of
Moab, and 'Ayeshah ' was her name. After three years ^
Abraham went to see Ishmael his son, having sworn to
Sarah that he would not descend from the camel in the
place where Ishmael dwelt. He arrived there at midday
and found there the wife of Ishmael. He said ^ to
her : Where is Ishmael ? She said to him : He has gone
with his mother to fetch the fruit of the palms ^^ from the
wilderness. He said to her : Give me a httle bread and a
little water,ii for my soul is faint after the journey in the
desert. She said to him : I have neither bread nor water.
He said to her : When Ishmael comes (home) tell him this
II story, and say to him : A certain old man came from the
land of Canaan to see thee, and he said, Exchange ^^ the
thirst ; for death by thirst is unnatural, and it is harder than all other
(kinds of) death. The Holy One, blessed be He, heard his prayer."
^ See infra, p. 263.
2 Of the eve of the first Sabbath in the week of Creation. See supra,
p. 124.
3 In the wilderness of Beer-Sheba.
* See infra, pp. 268, 323.
^ Lit. " they lifted up their feet."
« The first editions read : " fords." The reading in our MS. is
the correct text.
' In later editions other readings of this name are found, namely,
'"Essah " and '"Ephah." See Grunbaum, op. cit. p. 125.
* Cf. the narrative in the Book of Jashar xxi. 22 ff. ; Jalkut,
Gen., loc. cit.. and Midrash Haggadol, c. 310.
» The scribe has made a little mistake here by writing " She said."
1" Luria objects to the text, and prefers to read, " fruit of the broom-
tree " ; cf. Job XXX. 4. See Jalkut, loc. cit. ; T.B. Baba Bathra, 75b ;
perhaps the text should read : " fruit and broom-trees."
" The first editions read : " a little bread and dainties." The
Prague edition reads : " a little water and bread and dainties."
1* The first editions read : " That the door-sill of the house is not
good." See the Book of Jashar xxi. 31, and Jalkut, loc. cit.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 219
threshold of thy house, for it is not good for thee. When
Ishmael came (home) his wife told him the story. A son of
a wise man is like half a wise man. Ishmael understood.
His mother sent and took for him a wife from her father's
house,^ and her name was Fatimah.-
Again after three years Abraham went to see his son
Ishmael, having sworn to Sarah as on the first occasion
that he would not descend from the camel in the place
where Ishmael dwelt. He came there at midday, and found
there Ishmael's wife. He said to her : Where is Ishmael ?
She replied to him : He has gone with his mother to feed
the camels in the desert. He said to her : Give me a little
bread and water, for my soul is faint after the journey ^ of
the desert. She fetched it and gave it to him. Abraham
arose and prayed before the Holy One, blessed be He, for
his son, and (thereupon) Ishmael's house was filled with all
good things of the various blessings,^ When Ishmael came
(home) his wife told him what had happened, and Ishmael
knew that his father's love was still extended to him, as
it is said, 1| " Like as a father pitieth his sons " (Ps. ciii.
13). After the death of Sarah, Abraham again took
(Hagar) his divorced (wife), as it is said, " And Abraham
again ^ took a wife, and her name was Keturah " (Gen. xxv.
1). Why does it say " And he again " ? Because on the
first occasion she was his wife, and he again betook himself
to her. Her name was Keturah, because she was perfumed
with all kinds of scents.®
Another explanation of Keturah (is) : because her
^ From Pharaoh's house. See supra, p. 1 90, and cf . the Book of
Jashar xxi. 17.
^ See Pal. Targum, Gen. xxi. 21, and Jalkut, loc. cit. These names
Fatimah and 'Ayeshah point to Arabian influence, and give us another
terminus a quo to fix the date and locaUty of its redaction. 'Ephah,
mentioned above (p. 218, note 7), occurs as a woman's name in
I Chron. ii. 46.
2 For this legend, see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 66 f. with
notes.
* Jalkut, loc. cit., reads "food and blessing." See infra, p. 328, and
cf. Midrash Haggadol, c. 311.
* In our MS. the quotation ends here ; it is continued in the first
editions as in our version. See Pal. Targum, Gen. xxv. i, and
Midrash Haggadol, c. 375, note 8, where the parallel passages are
given.
* The Ishmaelites in the wilderness were the buyers and sellers
of precious spices. Cf. Cant. iii. 6, and Ezek. xxvii. 21,
220 RABBI ELIEZER
actions were beautiful like incense,^ and she bare him
six sons,- and they were all called according to the name
of Ishmael,^ as it is said, " And she bare him Zimran "
{ibid. 2).
Like a woman sent away from her husband, so likewise
Abraham arose and sent them away from Isaac his son,
from this world and from the world to come, as it is said,
" But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham
had,^ Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them ^ away from
Isaac his son " {ibid. 6), by a deed of divorcement.
Corresponding to the name of Ishmael's son " Kedar, the
sons of Kedar were so called, as it is said, " Of Kedar, and
of the kingdoms of Hazor " (Jer. xlix. 28). Corresponding
to the name of Ishmael's son " Kedemah " ' (Gen. xxv. 15),
the " sons of Kedem " were so called.^ Because they dwelt
in the territory belonging to Cain, his children were called
" sons of Cain," as it is said, " Now Heber the Kenite
had separated himself from Cain " (Judg. iv. 11). Were
not all the sons of Cain cut off ^ by the waters of the Flood ?
But because they dwelt in the territory of the children of
Cain, his children were called " sons of Cain," as it is said,
" Nevertheless || Cain shall be wasted, ^° as long as Asshur
shall dwell in thy place " (Num. xxiv. 22). " Neverthe-
less Cain shall be wasted away " by fire, through the seed
1 The Hebrew for " incense" (Ketoreth) suggests a connection with
the name Keturah.
^ The first editions read here (instead of our context) the following :
"Zimran, and Jokshan, and Mcdan and Midian, and Ishbak and
Shuah."
^ The meaning is not quite evident ; does it mean that the six names
have some part of their spelling in common with the various letters
of the name Ishmael ? This is the case with the initial letter of five
names, but Zimran is the exception.
* In the MS. the quotation ends here ; it is continued in the first
editions.
^ The MS. reads : " 'and he sent them away' by adeed of divorcement."
* The first editions read " sons." The descendants of Ishmael
intermarried with the children of Keturah.
' In the MS. the word has been partly erased, only the letters ip
are legible.
* The first editions add : " as it is said : ' The children of Kedem ' "
(Jer. xlix. 28).
* Cf. Rabbi Bechai's commentary on Num. xxiv. 22, which reads:
" Were not all the sons of Cain cut off ? " according to our text. The
later editions read: "separated at the generation of the flood."
*" In the MS. the quotation ends here. Our translation of the
Scripture text differs from the usual version.
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM 221
of Ishmael, the latter shall cause the kingdom of Assyria
to cease.i
Balaam said : Of the seventy nations that the Holy One,
blessed be He, created in His world, He did not put His
name on any one of them except on Israe/ ; - and since the
Holy One, blessed be He, made the name of Ishmael similar
to the name of IsraeZ, woe to him who shall live in his days,
as it is said, " Alas, who shall live when God establisheth
him ? " 3 (ibid. 23).
Rabbi Ishmael said : In the future the children oi
Ishmael will do fifteen things in the land (of Israel) in the
latter days, and they are : They will measure the land with
ropes ; ^ they will change a cemetery into a resting-place
for sheep (and) a dunghill ; they will measure with them
and from them upon the tops of the mountains ;
falsehood will multiply and truth will be hidden ; the
statutes will be removed far from Israel ; sins will be
multiplied in Israel ; worm-crimson will be in the wool,
and he will cover ^ with insects paper and pen ; he will hew
down the rock of the kingdom,^ and they will rebuild
the desolated cities and sweep the ways ; and they will
plant gardens and parks, and fence in the broken walls of the
Temple ; and they will build a building in the Holy Place ;
and two brothers will arise over them,' princes at the end ;
^ The reference may be to the Moslem possession of Bagdad in
Babylon. See infra, p. 350 ; and also Rashbam, in loc. (Num.
xxiv. 22).
^ Some of the later editions add here : " And IshmaeZ, as it is said :
' And thou shalt call his name Ishmael ' " (Gen. xvi. 11).
* By giving him the name of El. " Alas, who shall live when he is
appointed (with the name) El," may be the meaning read into the
verse in question, or probably there is a play on the name Ishmael
and the last two words Missumo el. The usual rendering is, " Alas,
who shall live when God doeth this." See Midrash Haggadol, c. ^^St,.
* To obtain exact dimension : cf. T.B. Baba Bathra, 103b.
* The root hap means to be decayed. See Isa. xxxiii. 9 : " Lebanon
mouldereth " ; or should we render " The paper will be decayed with
the pen " ? Literature will then perish. Krauss, Studien zur Byzantisch-
Jiidischen Geschichte, p. 145, renders the preceding clause: "purple
will be exceedingly dear."
* The tombs of the Kings of Judah. Ki-auss, op. cit., renders here :
"the coinage will be withdrawn from circulation."
^ Or, " against them," i.e. the two CaUphs, Mohammed Alemin
and Abdallah Almamum (809-813 c.e.). See Graetz, Geschichte,
v. pp. 1971., and his article in Frankel's Monatsschrift, 1859, p. 112.
This gives us again a date for determining the period when our book
was finally edited. Krauss, op. cit., points out that the reference in the
preceding clause is to the Mosque of Omar, the foundation of which
222 RABBI ELIEZER
and in t leir days the Branch, the Son of David, will arise,
as it is 5,' aid, '| " And in the days of those kings shall the God
of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed "
(Dan. ii. 44).
Rabbi Ishmael also said : Three wars of trouble ^ will
the sons of Ishmael in the future wage on the earth in the
latter days, as it is said, " For they fled away from the
swords " (Isa. xxi. 15). " Swords " signify only wars, one in
, the forest of Arabia, as it is said, " From the drawn sword "
'ibid.); another on the sea, as it is said, " From the bent
oow " (ibid.) ; and one in the great city which is in Rome,-
which will be more grievous than the other two, as it is said.
s
" And from the grievousness of the war " (ibid.). From
there the Son of David shall flourish and see the destruction
of ^ these and these, and thence will He come to the land
of Israel, as it is said, " Who is this that cometh from
Edom,^ with crimsoned garments from Bozrah ? this that
is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his
strength ? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save "
{ibid. Ixiii. 1).
wcis laid by the Caliph Omar after his conquest of Jerusalem in 636 c.e.
In the next line we lia\e the expression, " the Branch, the son of
David," cf. supra, p. 201, note 3, and see also the Shemoneh 'Esreh,
p. 49 (Singrr).
' Or, " commotion."
* The later editions read here " Aram," owing to the Censor.
^ The Prague edition reads: "the idolatrs." See also Graetz,
Geschichte, v. pp. 441 ff., especially p. 446, on the connection between
our book and the Secrets of R. Simeon ben Jochai. The latter work,
according to Graetz, was the source used by our author. The theory
of Graetz was controverted by Steinschneider in Z D.M.G. xxviii. pp.
645 f. The Secrets are printed in Jellinek's B.H.M. iii. p. 78. A very
interesting parallel to the latter part of this chapter of P.R.E. is'fo be
found in the Book of the Bee, liii. (pp. i24flf.).
* In the MS. the quotation ends here; it is continued in the first
editions.
CHAPTER XXXI
THE BINDING OF ISAAC ON THE ALTAR [38a. i.]
The tenth trial was (as follows) : " And it came to pass after
these things, that God did prove Abraham " (Gen. xxii. 1).
He tried Abraham each time ^ in order to know his heart,
whether he would be able to perse vif -^ id keep all the
commandments of the Torah - or not. whilst as yet the
Torah had not been given, Abraham kept all the precepts ^ of
the Torah, as it is said, " Because that Abraham obeyed
my voice,* and kept my charge, my commandments, my
statutes, and my Torah " {ibid. xxvi. 5).^ And Ishmael
went repeatedly from the wilderness to see || his father
Abraham.^
Rabbi Jehudah said : In that night was the Holy One,
blessed be He, revealed unto him, and He said unto him :
Abraham ! " Take now thy son,^ thine only son, whom thou
^ See Gen. Rab. Iv. i, and Cant. Rab. i. g.
- The next words, up to " as it is said," are not in the printed
editions.
3 According to the Book of Jubilees, Abraham not only enacted
the laws of tithes (xiii. 25-29), but he also celebrated the feast of
first-fruits of the grain harvest on the 15th of Sivan (xv. i, 2), and
the feast of Tabernacles (xvi. 20-31) ; he ordained peace-offerings
and the regulations as to the use of salt and wood for the offerings,
washings before sacrifices, and the duty of covering blood (xxi. 7-17),
and prohibited intermarrying with the Canaanites (xxii. 20, xxv. 5),
and adultery (xxxix. 6). On this theme see Apoc. Baruca Ivii. 2, and
cf. Ecclus. xliv. 20.
* In the MS. the quotation ends here, but it is continued in the
first editions.
* See T.B. Joma, 28a f.
* As Abraham had visited Ishmael, the latter knew that his father
would receive him. See Pal. Targum, Gen. xxii. i, and Gen. Rab. h .
4, for the story of the dispute between Isaac and Ishmael, and for the
account of the readiness of the former to offer up his life to the service
of God.
' In our MS. the quotation ends here, but it is continued in the
first editions.
233
224 RABBI ELIEZER
lovest, even Isaac " {ibid. xxii. 2). And Abraham, having pity
upon Isaac,^ said before Him : Sovereign of all worlds !
Concerning which son - dost Thou decree upon me ? Is it
concerning the son lacking circumcision,^ or the son born for
circumcision ? He answered him : " Thine only son."
He rejoined : This one is the only son of his mother, and the
other son is the only son of his mother. He said to him :
" The one, whom thou lovest." He said to Him : Both of
them do I love.* He said to him : " Even Isaac."
" And offer him there for a burnt offering " ^ {ibid.).
He spake to Him : Sovereign of all worlds ! On which
mountain hast Thou told me (to offer him) ? (God)
answered him : In every place where thou dost see My
glory abiding and waiting for thee there, and saying,'' This
is Mount Moriah ; ' a^it is said, " Upon one of the mountains
which / will tell U \vh " {ibid.).^
Abraham rose up ■ early in the morning, and he took
with him Ishmael, and Eliezer, and Isaac his son, and he
saddled the ass. Upon this ass did Abraham ride. This
was the ass, the offspring of that ass which was created during
the twilight,^ as it is said, " And Abraham rose early in the
morning, and saddled his ass " {ibid. S).^^ The same ass was
also ridden upon by Moses when he came to Egypt, as it is
said, " And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them
upon the ass " (Ex. iv. 20). This || same ass will be ridden
1 Luria thinks that the reading should be : " The Holy One, blessed
be He, had pity upon Isaac " (and ordered that Ishmael should be
offered as an atonement for his past evil life). See Jalkut, Gju. § 90,
Midrash Hagi:;adol, c. 317, and ci. Wisdom x. 5.
2 See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 69, and of. the Liturgy for
the second day of the New Year, ed. Heidenheim, pp. 34b ff.
3 Ishmael had been born thirteen years before God commanded the
rite of circumcision, and when he was born his father was uncircum-
cised. but when Isaac was born Abraham was circumcised. On the
theme of the "'Akedah " see Gen. Rab. Iv. i f.
* See T.B. Synhedrin, 89b ; Gen. Rab. xxxix. 12.
» See the rest of this quotation.
« The first editions add " to thee " ; see Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit.
' The 1st ed. reads here : " the altar."
•The first editions add: "'Which I have told thee of,' is not
written here, but, ' which I will tell thee of.' " God would indicate
to Abraham the place in His own good time: of. Gen. Rab. Iv. S.
* Preceding the first Sabbath in the week of creation. See Aboth
V. 9; Jalkut, Gen. § 98 ; Jalkut on Zech. ix. 9 (ed. King, p. 48) ; and
cf. supra, p. 124.
10 This quotation should probably belong to the previous sentence,
and follow the word " ass."
1
%G OF ISAAC ON THE ALTAR 225
Pthe future by the Son of David,^ as it is said,
^ greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of
^m : behold, thy king cometh unto thee : he is just,
)d ; 2 lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt,
of an ass " ^ (Zech. ix. 9).
c was thirty-seven years old * when he went to Mount
, and Ishmael was fifty years old. Contention arose
a Eliezer and Ishmael. Ishmael said to Eliezer : Now
jraham will offer Isaac his son for a burnt offering,
4 upon the altar, ^ and I am his first-born son, I will
I (the possessions of) Abraham. Eliezer replied to
laying : He has already driven thee out like a woman
?ed from her husband, and he has sent thee ^ away to
ilderness, but I am his servant, serving him by day and
ght, and I shall be the heir of Abraham. The Holy
; answered them, saying to them : Neither this one nor
one shall inherit.'
n the third day they reached Zophim,^ and when they
ned Zophim they saw the glory of the Shekhinah ^
The Messiah; see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 71, note 2,
Jewish Sources of the Sermon on the Mount, p. 143, for the
ige interpretation given to this Messianic function by Matthew
1. 7), and cf. Justin Martyr, Dial. c. Try ph. liii.
^ In the MS. this first part of the verse is not quoted.
. 3 Later Rabbinic interpretation appUed this verse sometimes to
■ Messiah ben Joseph. See Ibn Ezra, in loc.
* See Tanna de be EUjahu Rab. xxv. p. 138, and cf. Seder "Olam
.b. i. ; Tosaphoth to T.B. Jebamoth, 6ib ; Ex. Rab. i. i, and the
3vious chapter in our book.
! 6 The wording here is based on Lev. vi. 13.
^ See Jalkut, loc. cit.
'See Gen. Rab. Ivi. i; Midrash Haggadol, col. 320; Tanchuma,
\ loc. For the story see also the Book of Jashar xxiii. 22 ff., Pal.
argum, and the second version to Gen. xxii. The Church Fathers deal
ith the theme in their usual style. See Ephraim of Syria on Jonah,
; Ambrose On Faith in Immortality , G.T. i. pp. 404 f. ; Zeno of Verona
Dn Patience, 5.
* i.e. Mount Moriah, on which the Temple was built ; see 2 Chron. iii.
r. See Rashi on T.B. Pesachim, 49a ; "Arukh, ed. Kohut, vii. 33a; and
cf. T.B. Berakhoth, 6ib. The word D'Sis means " watch-towers."
The Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit., reads " Zuphith." Jubilees (xviii. 13)
agrees with our book in identifying the mount with Mount Zion. See
)also Book of the Bee, xxv. p. 43.
^ This passage is of considerable interest. We are in the domain
of Philonic interpretation of the Bible. Thus Clement of Alexandria,
under the influence of Philo's allegorical interpretation, says on the
text. Gen. xxii. 3, 4 : " Abraham, when he came to the place which
God told him of on the third day, looking up, saw the place afar off.
For the first day is that which is constituted by the sight of good things ;
15
226
RABBI ELIEZER
resting upon the top of the mountain, as it is sa
the third day Abraham Hfted up his eyes, and saw^
afar off" (Gen. xxii. 4). What did he see? {^
a pillar of fire standing from the earth to the tf
Abraham imderstood that the lad had been acce
the perfect burnt offering. He said to Ishmael and .
Do ye see anything upon one of those mountains ?
said to him : No. He considered them (as dull) as
He told them : Since ye do not see anything, " Al
here with the ass " {ibid. 5),^ with such who are sim
the ass.^
He took the wood and placed it upon the back of h
Isaac, and he took the fire and the knife in his hand, anc
went both of them together.^ Isaac said to his father :
father ! Behold the fire and the wood, where is the Ian
the burnt offering ? He replied to him : My son ! Tho
the lamb for the burnt offering, as it is said, " And Abrt
said, God will provide ^ for himself the lamb " {ibid. 8).
Rabbi Simeon ^ said : The Holy One, blessed be
on the third, the mind
fl
and the second is the soul's best desire
ceives spiritual things " {Strom, v. ii).
Our book identifies the place (cipo) with the Shekhinah, just as Pft
does (De Somniis, i. M. i. 638, C.W. iii. p. 213) ; see Gen. Rab. Ivi. "'
and cf. the valuable note in Weinstein's Ziir Genesis der Agada, p.
The representation of the Shekhinah as a " Pillar of Fire " correspo
with Philo's identification of the Logos with the " Pillar of Clou
which at night became the " Pillar of Fire " in the wilderness, lead
God's people to the Holy Land ; see Hellenism and Christianity, p.
note. According to Jubilees xviii. 4 : " And he came to a well of wcr
and he said to his young men, ' Abide ye here with the ass.' " Df
our author intentionally vary this by substituting the " cloud
the well ?
1 The first editions add here : " He said to his son Isaac : My so
dost thou see anything upon one of these mountains ? He said
him : Yes. (Abraham) said to him : What dost thou see ? He repliei
I see a pillar of fire standing from the earth up to the heavens." Si
for further references to the vision of Isaac and Abraham, Gen. Ra'J
Ivi. I, Pal. Targum, Gen. xxii. 4, and Tanchuma, Vayeia. §.Kxiii., whicll
refers to "a cloud enwrapt on the mountain." See also jalkut. Gen
§ 99, and the Book of Jashar xxiii., which has used our book.
2 See T.B. Jebamoth, 62a ; Gen. Rab. Ivi. 2 ; Eccles. Rab. on Eccles
ix. 7; T.B. Kiddushin, 68a; and Midrash Haggadol, c. 320.
3 "The first editions add : " Just as the ass does not see anything,
likewise do ye not see anything, as it is said : ' And Abraham said to
his young men : Abide ye here with the ass' " (Gen. xxii. 5).
* Cf. Gen. xxii. 6.
^ The word might be rendered : " accept." The verse might be
translated thus : " God will accept for Himself the lamb, i.e. my
son."
• The first editions read : " Ishmael."
BINDING OF ISAAC ON THE ALTAR 227
pointed out ^ the altar with a finger to Abraham our father,
and said to him : This is the altar. That was the altar ^
whereon Cain and Abel sacrificed ; it was the same altar
whereon Noah^ and his sons sacrificed, as it is said,*
" And Abraham built the altar there " {ibid. 9). " And
Abraham built an altar there " is not written here, but
" And Abraham built the altar there." That was the altar
whereon the first ones (of old) had sacrificed.^
Isaac said to his father Abraham : O my father ! Bind for
me my two hands, and my two feet, so that I do not curse ^
thee ; for instance, a word may issue from the mouth because
of the violence and dread of death, and I shall be found to
have slighted || the precept, "Honour thy father" (Ex. xx, 12).'^
He bound his two hands and his two feet, and bound him
upon the top of the altar, and he strengthened his two arms
and his two knees ^ upon him, and put the fire and wood in
order, and he stretched forth his hand and took the knife.
Like a high priest ^ he brought near his meal offering, and
his drink offering ; i" and the Holy One, blessed be He, was
sitting and beholding the father binding with all (his) heart
and the son bound with all (his) heart. And the ministering
angels ^^ cried aloud and wept, as it is said, " Behold, the
^ The Venice edition adds : " with the finger " ; see infra, pp. 382 f.
* See supra, pp. 153, 171; see also Aboth de Rabbi Nathan (a)
i. p. 4a; Jalkut, Gen. § loi, for a parallel text. The first editions
add : " whereon the first man brought (his offering)."
3 See supra, p. 171, note 8, and cf. Midrash Haggadol, c. 321.
* The first editions quote Gen. viii. 20 also.
* Luria suggests a variant reading, based on Jalkut Makhiri, Ps.
xxxvi. 5. " As it is said : ' And Noah built an altar to the Lord.'
' Abraham built there an altar ' is not written here, but ' and he built
the altar.'" The reading in Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit., is similar; see also
Pal. Targum, Gen. xxii. 9.
•The Venice edition reads: "on account of reflex movement."
Read xma'B'3, see Pesikta Rabbathi xl. (p. 170b), Tanna de be
Elijahu Rab. xxvii. p. 138; and Tanna de be Elijahu Zutta ii. p. 174;
and cf. Agadath Bereshith xxxi. p. 02, and Griinbaum, op. cit. p. 112.
' See Pal. Targum, Gen. xxii. 10, and Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit.
* See Shocher Tob, Ps. xx. 8, p. 170.
* See Lev. Rab. xxix. gf., which implies that the'Akedah (Binding
of Isaac) was on the Day of Atonement, so that the service of
Abraham on that occasion might be considered as resembUng that of
the High Priest.
1" The meal offering and the drink offering accompanied the " burnt
offering " in the Tabernacle and Temple.
11 Jubilees xviii. 9 reads : " And I (the angel) stood before Him,
and before the prince of the Mastema, and the Lord said. Bid him not
to lay his hand on the lad,"
228 RABBI ELIEZER
Erelim ^ cry - without ; the angels of peace weep bitterly "
(Isa. xxxiii. 7). The ministering angels said before the Holy
One, blessed be He : Sovereign of all the worlds ! Thou
art called merciful and compassionate, whose mercy is upon
all His works ; ^ have mercy upon Isaac, for he is a human
being, and the son of a human being, and is bound before Thee
like an animal. " O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast " ;
as it is said, " Thy righteousness is like the mighty
mountains ; - thy judgments are like a great deep : O Lord,
thou preservest man and beast " (Ps. xxxvi. 6).
Rabbi Jehudah said : When the blade •* touched his neck,
the soul of Isaac fled and departed, (but) when he heard His
voice from between the two Cherubim,^ saying (to Abraham),
" Lay not thine hand upon the lad " (Gen. xxii. 12), his
soul returned to liis body, and (Abraham) set him free, and
Isaac stood upon his feet. And Isaac knew « that in this
manner the dead in the future will be quickened. He opened
(his mouth), and said : Blessed art thou, O Lord, who
quickeneth the dead.^ ||
Rabbi Zeehariah said : That ram, which was created at
the twilight,^ ran and came to be offered up instead of
Isaac, but Sammael ^ was standing by, and distracting it,
in order to annul the offering of our father Abraham. And
it was caught by its two horns in the trees, as it is said,
" And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold,
1 i.e. angels ; see Kimchi's Book of Roots, s.v. .tin. Cf. T.B.
Chagigah, 5b ; Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 73, note i ; and cf.
Gen. Rab. Ivi. 5, and Midrash Haggadol, c. 322.
* The quotation ends here in our MS.
^ Cf. Ps. cxlv. 9.
•• Lit. " sword." See Midrash Haggadol, c. 323.
* See supra, p. 24. Cf. Heb. xi. 19.
« The first editions add : " of the resurrection of the dead from the
Torah." The connection with the word Torah is not quite clear,
and the word should be probably deleted. See Rokeach, 322, and
cf. Brode's comment, in loc. The Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit., reads :" He
knew that in the future He would revive the dead."
' This is the second benediction of the Shemoneh 'Esreh ; see Singer,
p. 45. The benediction is appropriately placed in Isaac's' mouth, for
he had also been bound unto death and then set free. The benediction
speaks of the loosening of the bound, as well as of the resurrection.
8 Of the eve of the first Sabbath; see supra, p. 12;.
» See Jubilees xviii. 12 : " And the prince of the Mastema was put
to shame. And Abraham Ufted up his eyes and looked, and behold,
a single ram caught and it came (?)." The word translated "and
distracting it" is Masteno ; it reminds one of Mastema of Jubilees.
See also Midrash Haggadol, c. 324.
BINDING OF ISAAC ON THE ALTAR 229
behind him a ram caught in the thicket by its horns "
(ibid. 13). What did that ram do ? It put forth its leg and
took hold of the coat of our father Abraham, and Abraham
looked, saw the ram, and he went and set it free. He offered
it up instead of Isaac his son, as it is said, " And Abraham
went and took the ram,^ and offered it up for a burnt offering
in the stead of his son " (ibid.).
Rabbi Berachiah said : The sweet savour (of the ram)
ascended before the Holy One, blessed be He, as though it
were the sweet savour of Isaac,- and He swore that He
would bless him ^ in this world and in the world to come,
as it is said, " By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord,
because thou hast done this thing " ; and it says, " That
in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed, as the stars of the heaven " {ibid. 16, 17).
" That in blessing " (refers) to this world ; " I will bless
thee," in the world to come; and "I will greatly multiply
thy seed," in the future that is to come.
Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa said : ^ From that ram, which
was created at the twilight, nothing came forth which was
useless.^ The ashes of the ram ^ were || the base ' which
was upon the top of the inner altar.^ The sinews of the
ram were the strings ^ of the harp whereon David played.
The ram's skin ^^ was the girdle (around) the loins of Elijah,
may he be remembered for good, as it is said, " And
they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with
^ The quotation ends here in our MSS.
^ See ?ohar. Gen. 120b.
' See Jalkut, loc. cit., and Apoc. Baruch, loc. cit.
* See Jalkut, Isa. § 436, and Midrash Haggadol, c. 325.
* See Mishnah, ZelDachim ix. 5, as to the parts of a burnt offering
which were not offered on the altar.
* See supra, p. 204, and of. T.B. ?ebachim, 62a.
' Or, foundation. Does the text here refer to the horns of the
altar ? or should the text read, " the foundation whereon (stood) the
inner altar" ? See Midrash Haggadol, loc. cit.
* The first editions add here : "as it is said : ' And Aaron
shall make atonement upon the horns of it once in the year ' " (Ex.
XXX. 10).
® Read Nimin instead of Nebalim, and see supra, p. 127. The
first editions read : " The sinews of the ram were ten, corresponding
to the ten strings of the harp," etc. According to one tradition the
harp of David had only eight strings, and it is the harp of the Messiah
which is to have ten strings. See Josephus, Ant. vii. 12. 3, and of.
Pesikta Rabbathi, pp. 98b f.
'o The inference here is drawn from the word '"Or" (iij;), leather.
230 RABBI ELIEZER
o
a girdle of leather about his loins " (2 Kings i. 8).^ The horn
of the ram of the left side^ (was the one) wherein He blew
upon Mount Sinai, as it is said, " And it shall come to pass,
that when the ram's horn soundeth long " "* (Josh. vi. 5).
(The horn) of the right side, which is larger than that of
thij left, is destined in the future to be sounded in the
world that is to come,^ as it is said, " And it shall come
to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown "
(Isa. xxvii. 13);^ and it is said, "And the Lord shall be
king over all the earth " (Zech. xiv. 9).
Rabbi Isaac said : Nothing has been created except
by the merit of worship. Abraham returned from Mount
Moriah only through the merit of worship, as it is said,
" We will worship, and come again to you" (Gen. xxii. 5).^
The Temple was fashioned only through the merit of worship,
as it is said, " Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship "
(Ps. xcix. 5).^
' The first editions have a corrupt quotation based on 2 Kings i.,
verses 6 and 8. The MS. only quotes the few words : " He was an
hairy man," etc.
- See Othijoth de Rabbi 'Akiba, letter T ; od. J; !li-.ck, B.H.M. iii. p.
31 ; and Rokeach. 203. The first editions read : " the two horns."
^ The first editions read here : " Wherein the Holy One, blessed
be He, blew upon Mount Sinai." See Midrash Haggadol. loc. cit.
* The Oxford MS. and th*^ first editions quote Ex. xix. ig.
* The first editions add : " at the ingathering of the exiles."
* The inference here is derived from the word " great," implying
the right side. On the subject of the Messianic trump, see Abkath
Rochel i., and cf. i Cor. xv. 52.
^ The Midrash Samuel led. Buber) iii. 7 contains a good parallel text,
which is much fuller than our MS. It adds here : " The Israehtes were
redeemed from Egypt only in consequence of worship, as it is said :
'And the people bowed the head and worshipped' (Ex. xii. 27). The
Torah was given only through the merit of worship, because it is said :
' And worship ye afar off ' " {ibid. xxiv. i). See jalkut, Gen. § 100.
* The Midrash Samuel, loc. cit., adds here : " The dead also will
only be quickened through the merit of worship, as it is said : ' O
come, let us worship and bow down ' (Ps. xcv. 6). The exiles will
only be gathered in again owing to the merit of worship, as it is said :
' And it shall come to pass in that day. that a great trumpet shall be
blown ; and they shall come which were lost in the land of Assvria,
and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt; and they shall
worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem' " (Isa. xxvii. 13).
See also Gen. Rab. Ivi. 2, and Midrash Haggadol, c. 320!. On the entire
chapter see the Book of Jashar xxiii. ; Tanchuma (ed. Buber), Gen. p.
57a, b ; Tanchuma, Vayera, § xxiii. ; and Midrash Agadah, Gen. pp. 50 fi.
CHAPTER XXXII
THE DEATH OF SARAH AND THE STORY OF ISAAC AND
REBECCA [39b. i.J
Six (people) were called by their names before they were
created,^ and they are : Isaac, Ishmael, Moses,^ Solomon,
Josiah, and King Messiah.^
Whence do we know about Ishmael ? Because it is said,
" And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art
with child,* . . . and thou shalt call his name Ishmael " (Gen.
xvi. 11). Why was his name || called Ishmael?^ Because
in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will hearken to
the cry^ of the people arising from (the oppression) which
the children of Ishmael will bring about in the land in the
last (days) ; ' therefore was his name called Ishmael.^
^ In Mekhilta, Bo. xvi. p. 19a; only Isaac, Solomon, and Josiah are
mentioned. See Agadath Bereshith, 65, and Midrnsh Hasgadol, c. 246.
In T.J. Berakhoth i. 8 four names are mentioned, the three as in the
Mekhilta and, in addition, Ishmael ; cf. Gen. Rab. xlv. 8. In T.B. ChuUin,
139b, the name of Moses is mentioned, as also the names of Mordecai,
Esther, and Haman, all these names being hinted at in the Torah. Luria
observes that Cyrus (Is. xliv. 28 and xlv. i) should have been mentioned
in the list of people named before their birth. This fact would not warrant
the inference that all these people were pre-existent. This reasoning
is, however, often applied to the name of the Messiah, as though it
meant that the Messiah pre-existed because his name was named
before his birth ; see Hellenism and Christianity, p. i 7.
2 The first editions add : " our Rabbi," or " our teacher."
^ The first editions read : " the name of the Messiah." The Amster-
dam edition reads : " our Messiah." The first editions add : " May
the Holy One, blessed be He, cause him to come speedily in our days."
* The first editions omit this part of the verse, and give the second
half only.
^ Ishma-e/ is interpreted as meaning "God will hear"; cl. Gen. xvi. 1 1 .
* The first editions read : " the voice of the cry."
" The MS. omits " days." It occurs in the first editions. The refer-
ence is to the time of woe preceding the coming of the Messiah. See
supra, pp. 221 f., and cf. Matt. xxiv. 3 ff. for the Messianic woes.
* The first editions add : " as it is said, ' God shall hear and answer
them ' " (Ps. Iv. 19). The Hebrew for " God shall hear" contains the
same letters as the Hebrew word Ishmael.
231
232 RABBI ELIEZER
How do wc know (this with reference to) Isaac ? Be-
cause it is said, "And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear
thee a son indeed ; and thou shalt call his name Isaac "
{ibid. xvni. 19). Why was his name called Isaac ? ^ Be-
cause Yad (the first Hebrew letter of Isaac indicates) the
ten trials 2 wherewith our father Abraham was tried ;
and he withstood them all. Zaddi (the second letter
indicates) the ninety (years), for his mother was ninety
years (at the birth of Isaac), as it is said, " And shall Sarah,
that is ninety years old, bear ? " {ibid. 17). Cheth (the
third letter points to) the eighth (day), for he was circum-
cised on the eighth day, as it is said, " And Abraham
circumcised his son Isaac, being eight days old " {ibid. xxi. 4).
Kuf (the fourth letter of the name marks) the hundred
(years), for his father was an hundred years old (at Isaac's
birth), as it is said, " And Abraham was an himdred years
old " {ibid. 5).
Whence do wc know about Moses ? ^ Because it is said,
" And the Lord said. My spirit shall not abide in man for
ever in their going astray " {ibid. vi. 3). What is the im-
plication (of the expression), " In their going astray " ? *
Retrospectively his name was called Moses.'' For the life
of Moses was one hundred and twenty years, as it is said,
" His days shall be an hundred and twenty years " {ibid.).
Whence do we know concerning Solomon ? Because
it is said, " Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall
be a man of rest, . . . for his name shall be Solomon "
1 See Midrash Haggadol, c. 256 ; Agadath Bereshith, 53 ; Gen. Rab.
liii. 7: and Tanchuma (ed. Buber), Gen. 54a. Jubilees xvi. 3 says:
" And we told her (Sarah) the name of her son, as his name is ordained
and written in the heavenly tables, (i.e.) Isaac."
^ The Agadath Bereshith, loc. cit., refers to the Ten Commandments.
The context in our author agrees with Tanchuma, Korah, ^ xii.
^ See T.B. Chullin, 139b. The name of Moses is said to be hinted
at in Ps. xviii. i6 : "He drew me out ('jb'S') of many waters." The
word Moses is connected with the root " to draw out " in Hebrew.
* The first editions read : " The word ' in their going astray ' has the
same numerical value as (the name) Moses" (nB'D = MShH). SccR.V. inloc.
° B =2, Sh =300, G =3, M =40 =345.
M=40, Sh=300, H=5 =345-
This system is known as Gcmatria, and was also known to and used
by some of the Church Fathers; see Irenaeus, adv. Har. v. xxx. iff.,
where he speaks of the number of the name of the Antichrist ; see also
Clement of Alexandria, Strom, vi. ch. xi. According to Jastrow, T.D.
239a, this word is a transposition of the word ypa/xfiana, " accounts";
see also'Arukh, ed. Kohut, ii. p. 309b.
THE DEATH OF SARAH 233
(1 Chron. xxii. 9).i Why was his name called Solomon ?
Because his name was called Solomon in the Aramaic
language, as it is said, " I will give peace (Shalom) and
quietness unto Israel in his days" (ibid.).^ \\
Whence do we know about Josiah ? Because it is said,
" Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David,
Josiah by name " (1 Kings xiii. 2), Why was his name
called Josiah ? (Because he was as acceptable) ^ as an
offering upon the altar ; she ^ said : A worthy offering let
him be before Thee.^ Therefore was his name called Josiah,
as it is said, " And he cried against the altar," etc. {ibid. 2).
Whence do we know concerning King Messiah ? Because
it is said, " His name shall endure for ever. Before the sun
his name shall be continued (Yinnon) " (Ps. Ixxii. 17).^
Why was his name called Yinnon ? For he will awaken '
those who sleep at Hebron out of the dust of the earth,
therefore is his name called Yinnon, as it is said, " Before
the sun his name is Yinnon" (ibid.).
When Abraham returned from Mount Moriah in peace, the
anger of Sammael ^ was kindled, for he saw that the desire
of his heart to frustrate the offering of our father Abraham
^ The Venice edition reads : " and thou shalt call his name Solomon,
because." See Midrash Haggadol, c. 246.
2 The name nchef (Solomon) is connected with ai'^c (peace) . See
also 2 Sam. xii. 24, with Kimchi's commentary thereon. The Aramaic
Sh'lama (peace) is somewhat similar to the Hebrew name Sh'lomoh
(=Solomon). The printed texts omit the words " his name was called
Solomon in the Aramaic language."
^ The words in brackets do not occur in the MS., but they are found
in the first editions.
* The reference is probably to the mother. The first editions omit
this.
* See Jalkut on i Kings xiii. § 200. The name Josiah (i.tivk') is
interpreted as though it were Kin 'c 'n', " he is worthy hke a lamb."
The next sentence is found only in the MS.
^ See' Arukh, ed. Kohut, iv. p. 141a, s.v. p:, in the sense of "offspring " ;
cf. Gen. xxi. 23. Gesenius (Oxford edition) renders Ps. Ixxii. 17 :
" Let his name have increase." See Parchon's Heh. Diet, s.v., and note
Jalkut, loc. cit., which says : " He will stir up all the evil ones of the earth
(in the future) " ; cf. Jalkut, Gen. § 45, and Midrash Hagajadol, loc. cit.
'' See Ibn Ezra on this verse of Ps. Ixxii. See also T.B. Synhedrin,
95a, and supra, p. 230. 'Arukh, loc. cit., reads: "in the future he will
bring to life those who sleep in the dust, therefore is his name called
Yinnon." See also supra, p. 12.
* Midrash Haggadol, c. 324, reads, "Satan." On Sammael's dis-
comfiture see Jubilees xviii. 9 and 12. The name Sammael {i.e. the
Devil) occurs in Christian books, e.g. in the Acts of Andrew and
Matthew (in A.N.C.L. xvi. p. 362).
234 RABBI ELIEZER
had not been realized. What did he do ? He went and
said to Sarah : Hast thou not heard what has happened in
the world ? She said to him : No. He said to her : Thy
husband, Abraham,^ has taken thy son Isaac and slain him
and offered him up as a burnt offering upon the altar.'- She
began to weep and to cry aloud three times, ^ corresponding
to the three sustained notes (of the Shophar),"* and (she gave
forth) three bowlings corresponding to the three discon-
nected short notes ^ (of the Shopliar), and her soul fled, and
she died.*"
Abraham came and found that she was dead. Whence
did he come ? From Mount Moriah," as it is said, " And
Abraham came to mourn for Sarah " (Gen. xxiii. 2).
Rabbi Jose said : Isaac observed mourning during three
years* || for his mother. After three years he married
Rebecca, and forgot the mourning for his mother.'' Hence
thou mayest learn that until a man marries a wife his love
centres in his parents. When he marries a wife his love is
bestowed upon his wife, as it is said, " Therefore shall a
man leave his father and his mother, and he shall cleave unto
his wife " {ibid. ii. 24). Does a man then leave ^" his father
and mother with reference to the precept, " Honour " ? ^^
But the love of his soul cleaves unto his wife, as it is said,
" And his soul clave (unto Dinah) " {ibid, xxxiv. 3) ; and it
says, " And he shall cleave unto his wife " {ibid. ii. 24).
1 See Tanchuma (cd. Buber), Gvn. :.jh; Pesikta Rabbullu xl. ;
Jalkut, Gen. sj 98 ; T.B. Gittin, 57b, and the Book of Jashar xxiii. 77.
The first editions omit Abraham and read " the old man."
- The first editions add : " And the lad wept, and cried aloud because
he could not be saved."
' Lit. " weepings."
* i.e. the Teki'oth.
* This is the "Teru'a"; cf. MLshnah, Rosh Ha-Shanab (iv. 9),
p. 16a.
* See Lev. Rab. xx. 2. and Eccles. Rab. to Ecclcs. ix. i. According
to these Midrashim it is Isaac who tells Sarah the story of the ' Akedah.
See Tanchuma, in loc. According to this version Satan, in the guise
of Isaac, tells the tale. See also Midrash Haggadol. !oc. cit.
' See Pal. Targum, Gen. in loc. According to the Book of Jashar
xxiii. 84, Sarah went to look for Abraham, but died at Hebron. Also
according to Jubilees xix. 2, Sarah died at Hebron.
* At the 'Akedah, Isaac was 37 years old, and when he married
Rebecca he was 40 years. For an instance of three years of mourning
see 2 Sam. xiii. 38 f. See Midrasli Haspadol, c. 388.
• " Sarah his mother " is the reading in the first editions.
'"Or" forsake."
*' " Honour thy father and thy mother " (Ex. xx. 12).
THE DEATH OF SARAH 235
Rabbi Jehudah said: Rebecca^ was barren for twenty-
years. After twenty years (Isaac) took Rebecca and went
(^vith her) to Mount Moriah, to the place where he had been
bound, and he prayed on her behalf concerning the concep-
tion of the womb; and the Holy One, blessed be He, was
entreated of him,^ as it is said, " And Isaac intreated the
Lord " (ibid. xxv. 21). The children were contending with
one another ^ within her womb like mighty warriors, as it is
said, "And the children struggled together within her " {ihid.
22). The time of her confinement came round, and her soul was
nigh unto death owing to her pains.* And she went to pray in
the place ' whither she and Isaac had gone, as it is said, " And
she went to inquire of the Lord " (ibid.). What did the Holy
One, blessed be He,« do ? Jacob took hold of the heels of
Esau to make him fall, as it is said, " And after that came
forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel "
{ibid. 26). Hence thou may est learn that the descend-
ants of Esau will not fall until a remnant || from Jacob will
come and cut off the feet of the children of Esau from the
mountain of Seir, as it is said, " Forasmuch as thou sawest
that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands "
(Dan. ii. 45).^ Another Scripture text says, " Vengeance
is mine, and a recompence,^ at the time when their foot shall
slide " (Deut. xxxii. 35).
Rabbi Tanchuma ^ said : The two lads grew up ; the one
went by the way of life, and the other went by the way of
deathji" as it is said, " And the boys grew, and Esau was a
cunning hunter " (Gen. xxv. 27). Jacob went on the way
^ The Book of Jashar xxvi. 3 says : " And Isaac and his wife rose up
and went to the land of Moriah to pray there and to seek the Lord."
See also T.B. Jebamoth, 64a, and Pal. Targum, Gen. xxv. 21.
^According to the Midrash Agadah, Toledoth, p. 21, God hearkened
to his prayer because " he was righteous and the son of a righteous
man."
^ See Gen. Rab. Ixiii. 6 for the cause of the struggle. Cf. Pal.
Targum, Gen. xxv. 22.
* See Book of Jashar xxvi. 9 ; Jalkut, Gen. § no.
° The Book of Jashar xxvi. 10 says: "And she went to the land
of Moriah to seek the Lord on account of this."
^ The first editions omit the words : " the Holy One, blessed be
He."
' The first editions quote here Dan. ii. 34. See Josephus, Ant. x. i o. 4.
* The MS. only quotes thus far, the first editions continue the verse.
* The first editions read : " R. Acha."
'» See supra, p. 102, for the " two ways."
236 RABBI ELIEZER
of life, for he was dwelling in tents, ^ and he studied the
Torah all his days.- Esau Avent on the way of death,
because he slew Nimrod and his son Chavir, and he almost
sought to kill Jacob his brother, as it is said, " The days of
mourning for my father are at hand, and I will slay my
brother Jacob" (ibid, xxvii. 41).
Rabbi Simeon said : In the hour when Isaac was bound, he
lifted up his eyes heavenwards and saw the glory of the
Shekhinah, as it is written, " For man shall not see me and
live" (Ex. xxxiii. 20). Instead of death his eyes grew dim •'
in his old age, as it is said, " And it came to pass, that when
Isaac was old, that his eyes were dim, so that he could not
see " (Gen. xxvii. 1). Hence thou mayest learn that the
blind man is as though he were dead.'*
The night-fall of the festival day of Passover eame,^
and Isaac called unto Esau his elder son, and said : O my
son ! To-night the heavenly ones ^ utter songs,^ on this night
the treasuries* of dew* are opened ; on this day the blessing
of the dews (is bestowed). Make me savoury meat whilst I
am still ahve, and I will bless thee. 1| The Holy Spirit rejoined,
saying to him : " Eat thou not the bread of him that hath
an evil eye,^" neither desire thou his dainties " (Prov. xxiii. 6).
He went to fetch it, and was delayed there.^^ Rebecca said
to Jacob his (other) son : i- On this night the treasuries of dew
1 According to the Targumim, in loc, the " tents " are the
" academies." See Jalkut, Gen., loc. cit.
^ The first editions read : " And Esau the wicked was going the way
of death to slay our father Jacob, as it is said : ' The days of mourning
for my father are at hand ; then will I slay my brother Jacob' " (Gen.
xxvii. 41).
^ See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, pp. 78 f., and of. Jalkut, Gen.
§ 114-
* See T.B. Nedarim, 64a, and Gen. Rib. l.xv. 10.
* See supra, p. 153. See also the Vilna Gaon on Orach Chayyim,
583 (108). Cf. Heb. xi. 20 on the theme in our text.
* Jalkut, Gen., loc. c it., reads : " All the heavenly ones sing a song " ;
see Pal. Targum, Gen. xxvii. i .
' Pss. cxiii.-cxviii.
* Cf. Slavonic Enoch vi. and Eih. Enoch Ix. 20. and supra.
p. 17, for this expression; and see T.B. Chagigah, 12b; and T.B.
Ta'anith, 4b.
^ The text is in the plural, " dews " here and throughout the chapter.
The prayer for dew forms part of the liturgy for the first day of
Passover.
" In the MS. the quotation ends here.
" See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 82.
^2 The first editions read : " Rebecca said to Jacob, O my son ! "
THE DEATH OF SARAH 237
will be opened, and on this night the angels utter a song.^
Make savoury meat for thy father, that he may eat and
whilst he still lives he may bless thee.
Now (Jacob) was skilled in the Torah,- and his heart
dreaded the curse of his father. His mother said to him :
My son ! If it be a blessing, may it be upon thee and upon thy
seed ; if it be a curse, let it be upon me ^ and upon my soul,
as it is said, " And his mother said to him, Upon me be
thy curse, my son " (Gen. xxvii. 13). He went and brought
two kids of the goats. Were two kids of the goats the food
for Isaac ? But he brought one as a Paschal offering,^ and
with the other he prepared the savoury meat to eat ; and he
brought it to his father,^ and he said to him : " Arise, I pray
thee, sit and eat of my venison " {ibid. 19).^ Isaac
said : " The voice is the voice of Jacob " {ibid. 22). Jacob
(declares) the unity of God. " The voice is the voice of
Jacob " ^ {ibid.) in the meditation of the Torah. " And
the hands are the hands of Esau " {ibid.), in all shedding of
blood and in every evil death. Not only this, but also when
they proclaim in heaven, " The voice is the voice of Jacob,"
the heavens tremble.^ And when they proclaim on earth,
" The voice is the voice of Jacob " {ibid.), every one who hears
1 The first editions add : "On this night in the future thy children
will be redeemed from the power of bondage ; on this night in the future
they will sing a song." See T.B. Sotah, 12b, and Wisdom xviii. 6.
* He should have fulfilled the desire of his father ; see T.B. Kid-
dushin, 31a, and Pal. Targum, Gen. xxvii. 6, 1 1.
' So also Pal. Targum, Gen. xxvii. 13.
* The first editions read : " Would not one fgoat) have been suffi-
cient for him ? As it is said : ' The righteous eateth to the satisfying
of his soul ' (Prov. xiii. 25). But one (goat) corresponded to the
Paschal Lamb." ^
* The first editions add here : " For we are taught in a Mishnah ;
the Pasclial Lamb is brought only when one is satisfied with food. He
entered," etc.
« See Rashi, in loc. ; Zohar, Gen. 154a ; and cf. Derekh Erez Zutta v.
on the rule as to eating in a sitting posture.
' The unity of God proclaimed by the " voice of Jacob" is applied
to the declaration of the children of Israel who exclaim : " Hear, O
Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one " (Deut. vi. 4).
* See infra, p. 282; Gen. Rab. Ixvi. 4; Pesikta Rabbathi xxi.
p. 99b ; Rokeach, 362. The ist ed. reads here : " And when they
proclaim on earth, 'The voice is the voice of Jacob' (Gen. xx^'ii. 22),
every one who hears and does not obey, his portion is with ' the hands
which are the hands of Esau ' " [ibid.).
' See Pal. Targum, Gen. xxvii. 9, and Rashi on Gen., in loc, and
T.B. Pesachim, 114b.
238 RABBI ELIEZER
will make his portion with " The voice which is the voice of
Jacob." And every one || who does not hear and does not
act (obediently), liis portion is with " The hands, which are
the hands of Esau."
Rabbi Jehudah said : Isaac blessed Jacob with ten
blessings concerning the dews of heaven and the corn of the
earth, corresponding to the ten words ^ whereby the world
was created, as it is said, " And God give thee of the dew
of the heaven" {ibid. 28); "Let peoples serve thee, . . ."
{ibid. 29). When Jacob went forth from the presence of
his father Isaac, he went forth crowned like a bridegroom,
and like a bride in her adornment,'- and the quickening dew
from heaven descended upon him, and refreshed his bones, ^
and he also became a mighty hero ; therefore it is said,
" By the hands of the mighty Jacob, from thence is the
shepherd, the stone * of Israel " {ibid. xlix. 24).
^ Ma'amaroth ; see Lev. Rab. xxxiv. (end) ; Deut. Rab. i. 14.
" See supra, pp. 40, 1121. ; and cf. Isa. xlix. 18.
* The words are based on Prov. xv. 30.
* See infra, p. 268. The R.V. should be noted.
CHAPTER XXXIII
ELISHA AND THE SHUNAMMITE WOMAN ^ [41a. i.J
" And 2 Isaac sowed in that land " (Gen. xxvi. 12). Rabbi
Eliezer said : Did Isaac sow the seed of corn ? ^ Heaven
forbid ! But he took all his wealth/ and sowed it in charity
to the needy, as it is said, " Sow to yourselves in righteous-
ness, reap according to love " (Hos. x. 12).^ Everything
which he tithed, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent him ''-^
return) one hundred times (the value) in different k'
blessings, as it is said, " And he found in the same
hundredfold : and the Lord blessed him " (Gen. xxvi"
Rabbi Simeon said : Owing to the power of || chai
dead will be quickened ^ in the future. Whence do W
this ? From Elijah the Tishbite.' For he betook I
^ This chapter seems to be the Midrash to the Haphtarah of
(Gen. xvii.-xxii.), illustrating the resurrection experienced by
at the 'Akedali. The Book of Jonah, which formed the conte
Chapter X., is the Haphtarah in the afternoon service on the L
Atonement.
2 The first editions read : " It is written : ' And Isaac sowed,' '
* The patriarchs were not to settle in Canaan ; therefore they
not devote themselves to the agricultural life. Their wealth wai.
their flocks, which could be easily removed as occasion demande
See Pal. Targum, Gen. xxvi. 12 ; Jalkut, Gen. § iii ; and infra, p. 289
* Lit. "his mammon"; see Jewish Sources of the Sermon on the
Mount, p. 109. The tithe had been observed by Abraham; see
Gen. xiv. 20, and therefore Isaac also gave a tithe. See Num. Rab.
xii. 1 1 . The first editions read : " But he took a tithe of all his wealth."
* See Tanaa de be Elijahu Zutta (ed. Friedmann), i. p. 167.
* See Prov. xi. 4. Isaac's charity and righteousness are assumed
here to have been the cause of his resurrection ; another cause
was the '"Akedah"; see supra, p. 228. The first benediction of
the Shemoneh ' Esreh, as we have already seen, refers to Abraham ;
the second benediction refers to the resurrection, and therefore to
Isaac, the first to experience this.
' The dead son of Elijah's hostess was quickened by God at the
request of the prophet. The first editions add here : " For he was
going from mountain to mountain, and from cave to cave." This is
based on 2 Kings ii. i ff.
239
16 "
240 RABBI ELIEZER
to Zarephath, and a woman (who was) a widow received
him with great honour.^ She was the mother of Jonah,'^
and they were eating and drinking ^ his ^ bread and oil ;
he, she, and her son, as it is said, " And she did eat, and
he also " (1 Kings xvii. 15).^
" He and she " (indicate that it was) by the merit of
Elijah that they had to eat. After (a period of) days, the
son of the woman fell sick and died,^ as it is said, " And
it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman
fell sick " {ibid. 17). The woman said to him (Elijah) :
Tnou didst come unto me ^ for coition, and thou wilt bring
my sin to remembrance against me, and my son is dead.
Now take away all that which thou hast brought ^ to me,
and give me my son. Elijah, may he be remembered for
good, arose and prayed before the Holy One, blessed be
He, and said before Him : Sovereign of all the worlds !
T ■' not enough (to endure) all the evils which have befallen
t also this woman ; for I know ^° that out of sorrow
on has she spoken of a matter which has not occurred,
le has brought against me to vex me.^^ Now let
generations learn ^^ that there is a resurrection of the
nd restore the soul of this lad within him ; and He
• giving him the Uttle she possessed and trusting in his word.
ina de be EHjahu Rab. xviii. p. 97.
•e T.J. Sukkah v. i. 55a; Gen. Rab. xcviii. 11; and see also
ii. 226.
.'he Jalkut, i Kings, §209, omits the words "and drinking";
.B. Berakhoth, 35b. People did not drink oil, it was eaten with
d, etc.
■ The first editions read " her " here.
^ The first editions add : " Rabbi Levi said : It is written, ' He and
le,' but we read, ' She and he.' " The Massorites afford numerous
examples of this variation in the reading of the written text. See
Berliner, Midrash Keri and Kethib; see also Cant. Rab. ii. 4; and
Kimchi on i Kings xviii. 15; and cf. J.E. viii. 368.
* The text does not state that the child died ; see Maimonides,
Moreh Nebukhim, i. 42 ; Kimchi, in loc. ; cf. T.B. Niddah, yob, and T.B.
Chullin, 7b.
'The MS. and first editions add: "for coition." The text reads:
" Thou art come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance and to slay
my .son" (1 Kings xvii. 18). The Midrash connect.s nx'a ("coiHon")
with T\«z {" thou art come") ; see Gesenius (Oxford ed.) p. q8a.
* The blessing on the meal and oil.
* Lit. " which have come over my head."
1" Luria holds that the text should read: " For Thou knowest " ;
cf. Jalkut, loc. cit.
" The printed editions read : " to provoke me " : cf. Job ix. 20.
'* From the resurrection of her son.
ELISHA AND THE SHUNAMMITE 241
was entreated of him, as it is said, " And the Lord hearkened
unto the voice of EHjah " {ibid. 22). Another Scripture
text says, " And Elijah || took the child . . . See, thy son
liveth " {ibid. 23).i
Rabbi Joshua ben Korchah said : Art thou astonished
at this ? - Do not be astonished, come and see, (learn)
from Elisha, the son of Shaphat, for no woman was able
to gaze at his face without dying ; and he went from mount
to mount, and from cave to cave, and he went to Shimem,
and a great woman received him with great honour. She
was a sister of Abishag,^ the Shvmammite, the mother ^ of
Oded, the prophet, as it is said, " And it fell on a day, that
Elisha passed to Shunem " (2 Kings iv. 8), and the woman
said to her husband : This man of God is (holy),^ no woman
is able to gaze at his face without dying ; but,^ " Let us
make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the wall ; and let us
set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a
lampstand " {ibid. 10). And every time that he passes he
can turn thither into the chamber,'' as it is said, " And it
fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the
chamber " {ibid. 11). And he called for the Shunammite,
as it is said, " And he said. Call her. And when he had
called her, she stood at the door " {ibid. 15). Why did
she stand at the door ? Because she was imable to gaze
at his face,^ so that she should not die. He said to her :
^ This concludes the exposition of R. Simeon on the Resurrection
and Charity. The second quotation is not given in the printed texts.
2 That charity causes the dead to be quickened.
^ Abishag hved at the close of David's reign ; see J.E. i. 66.
* The first editions read : " the wife of Iddo." Iddo lived in the reign
of Jeroboam. See Seder 'Olam Rab. xx. ; and cf. T.B. Synhedrin, 89b
and 104a; Tanchuma. Toledoth, § xii. Jalkut, 2 Kings § 228, reads:
"The mother of Iddo the prophet." Luria, with fine judgment, suggested
that Iddo of the printed texts should be corrected into " Oded," the
prophet who lived in the reign of Asa. See 2 Chron. xv. 8 ; see also
Rashi on 2 Kings iv. 8, where our P.R.E. is mentioned.
* " Holy" is not in the MS., but it occurs in the first two editions.
* " As it is said " is added by the first editions ; it does not occur
in the parallel context in Jalkut, Kings, loc. cit., which reads as our MS.,
" But ' Let us make,' " etc.
'The first editions and Jalkut, loc. cit., add: " They built it, and
prepared and arranged it. After some time ^ he passed by Shunem
and turned in to the chamber."
* See Lev. Rab. xxiv. 6, and Sepher Chassidim (ed. Fi'ankfort,
1724), 178.
1 Lit. " days."
16
242 RABBI ELIE^ER
" At this season, when the time cometh round, thou shalt
embrace a son " {ibid. 16), the fruit of thy womb. She said
to him : My lord is very old, and the way of women has
departed from me, || and it is impossible to do this thing.^
" Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine
handmaid " {ibid.).'^
Rabbi Zechariah said : " He will fulfil the desire of them
that fear him " (Ps. cxlv. 19).^ The Holy One, blessed be
He, fulfilled the desire of the prophet. She conceived and
bare, and the child grew. He went forth to refresh ^ him-
self, and to look at the reapers. A mishap overtook him,^
and he died, as it is said, " It fell on a day, that he went
out to his father to the reapers" (2 Kings iv. 18); this
restrained them (from work) until he came (among them),^
and he died, as it is said, " And he sat on her knees till
noon, and then died " {ibid. 20).
The woman went to Mount Carmel, and fell on her face
to the ground before Elisha, saying to him : Would that my
vessel ^ had remained empty ! But it was filled, and now
its contents are spilt. The prophet answered : Everything
which the Holy One, blessed be He, doeth. He telleth to
me, but He has hidden this matter, as it is said, " And
when she came to the man of God ^ . . . and Gehazi came
near to thrust her away " ^ {ibid. 27). What is the meaning
of " to thrust her away " ? To teach us that he put his hand
upon (her) pride, which was upon her breasts, ^° as it is said,
" And the man of God said. Let her alone ^^ . . . and the
Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me " {ibid.),
1 Luria's reads: " This thing cannot possibly be."
^ See Kimchi, in loc, who uses the same words as our author, based
on the quotation in our context in connection with Ps. cxlv. 19.
3 Cf. T.B. MegiUah, 27a.
* See'Arukh. ed. Kohut vi. p. 288b, s.v. 3D ; cf. Lam. ii. 18.
* See T.J. Jebamoth xv. 2, i4d.
* The phrase, " this restrained them until he came," is in Aramaic
and occurs only in our MS. Its meaning is doubtful. Is it an old
Targum ?
' See 2 Kings iv. 3 ; 'Sd (vessel; is used euphemistically here, mean-
ing " womb."
* In our MS. the quotation ends here.
* The Midrash here has a play on the word " lehadphah," inter-
preting it as though it were " lehod japhjah," " the glory of her beauty,"
i.e. the breasts; see T.B. Berakhoth, lob, and T.J. Jebamoth ii. 4. 3d.
'^ See Lev. Rab., loc. cit.
" The rest of the verse given by our MS. is omitted in the printed
editions.
ELISHA AND THE SHUNAMMITE 243
He took the staff which was in his hand, and gave it to
Gehazi, saying to him : Do not speak with thy mouth any
word at all ; know that ^ thou goest and placest the staff
upon the face of the lad, that he may live.
Now as for Gehazi, the matter was laughable in his
eyes,- and to every man whom he met || he said : Dost thou
believe that this staff will bring the dead to life ? Therefore
he did not succeed ^ until (Elisha) went on foot and put his
face ^ upon the face (of the child), and his eyes upon his
eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and he began to pray
before the Holy One, blessed be He : Sovereign of all the
worlds ! Just as Thou didst perform miracles by the hand
of Elijah, my master, and brought the dead to life, likewise
let this child live ; and He was entreated of him, as it is
said, " Then he returned, and walked in the house once
to and fro ; and went up, and stretched himself upon
him" (ibid. 35); "and the child sneezed seven times"
{ibid.).
Rabbi Azariah ^ said : Know thou the efficacy of charity.^
Come and see from the instance of Shallum,' son of Tikvah,
who was one of the important men of his generation, giving
charity every day. What did he do ? He filled the bottle
with water, and sat at the entrance of the city, and he would
give water to every person who came on the way, restor-
ing his soul to him.^ On account of the charity which
he did, the Holy Spirit rested upon his wife,^ as it is
1 The first editions read here " whilst " and omit " know that."
2 Lit. " before him." On Gehazi see J.E. v. 580 f.
^ His want of faith led to his failure to restore the child. Moreover,
he did not beUeve that he was dead, because he told Elisha " the
lad is not awaked " (2 Kings iv. 31).
* Jalkut, loc. cit., reads : " His mouth " ; this agrees with the text in
2 Kings iv. 34. Perhaps Luria's suggestion that the reading should
be : " his face . . . and his hands " is correct. John of Damascus,
op. cit. iv. 34, refers to the virginity of Elisha ; this idea occurs also in
Ambrose and other Christian writers. See also Clement. " Two Epistles
concernina,' Virginity," xiv. (A.N.C.L. xiv. p. 393).
* The Prague edition reads : " Rabbi Zechariah " ; this is also Brode's
reading,
* To cause the dead to be quickened.
' See Siphre, Num. § 78, and J.E. xi. 227.
^ To feed the hungry is to restore his soul ; cf. Lam. i. 11.
9 As to whether it also re.sted on him see J.E. , loc. cit., andcf. Jalkut,
loc. cit., which reads " upon him " ; see T.B. Megillah, 14b, and Kimchi
on 2 Kings xxii. 14, who quotes the entire passage from our P.R.E. ;
he does not, however, read " upon him." The reason why the Holy
244 RABBI ELIEZER
said,i " So Hilkiah the priest . . . went unto Huldah the
prophetess, the wife of Shalhim, the son of Tikvah " (ibid.
xxii. 14). Originally his name was " the son of Sachrah " ; -
just as thou dost say, " Merchandise is better^ than the cir-
culation of money " (Prov. iii. 14). One Scripture text || says,
"The son of Sachrah."^ When her husband died, the
charitable deeds of her husband ceased,^ and all Israel went
forth to show loving-kindness to Shallum, son of Tikvah.
But they spied the band,^ and they cast the man into the
sepulchre of Elisha,' and he came to life, as it is said, " And
as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived "
(2Kingsxiii. 21); and afterwards he begat Chanameel,^ as it
is said, " Behold, Chanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle
shall come unto thee " (Jer. xxxii. 7).
Rabbi Eliezer ^ said : Know thou the power of charity.^"
Come and see from (the instance of) Saul, the son of Kish,
who removed the witches and the necromancers from off
the earth, and once again he loved that which he had hated.^^
He went to En Dor, to the wife ^'^ of Zephaniah, the mother
of Abner, and he inquired of her for himself by the familiar
spirit, and she brought for him Samuel the prophet, and
Spirit rested upon Huldah is probably suggested by the special manner
of her husband's charity in pouring out water for the thirsty ; cf .
Isa. xliv. 3, and Joel ii. 28.
1 Insert idkjb'.
2 See I Chron. xxxiv. 22 : " the son of Hasrah," i.e. " CAasrah " —
this becomes " SacArah " by interchanging the first two letters of
the name, just as the Massorites have done with the name " Tikvah "
in this verse. " Sachrah " means " merchandise." See also 2 Kings
xxii. 14.
' In the MS. the quotation ends here ; it is continued in the Venice
edition.
* This quotation is unknown to me ; see, however, previous note (-).
* The Hebrew word for ceased is " Chasrah." The Jalkut, in loc,
reads: "The charity of her husband failed that righteous woman " ;
cf. T.B. Synhedrin, 47a, and T.B. ChuUin, loc. cit.
^ The first editions add : " that was coming against them."
' Cf. Ecclus. xlviii. 13.
* See J .E. vi. p. 203, s.v. Hanameel, son of Shallum and Huldah.
' The first editions read : " Chananiah ben Teradion."
'" The text here is probably corrupt. Instead of reading, " the
power of charity," we should perhaps read, " the power of righteous
people." Luria thinks that the whole phrase is out of place. The
narrative fits in better at the end of Chapter XXXI.
1' See Targum on i Sam. xxviii. 7 ff. ; Lev. Rab. xxvi. 7; Midrash
Samuel xxiv.
'^ Kimchi, on i Sam. xxviii. 7, reads : "to a woman who had a familiar
spirit, Zephaniah." See also Midrash Samuel, loc. cit., and Lev. Rab.,
loc. cit.
ELISHA AND THE SHUNAMMITE 245
the dead saw Samuel ascending, and they ascended with
him,i thinking that the resurrection of the dead had come,^
and the woman beheld, and she became very much confused,
as it is said, " And the king said unto her, Be not afraid :
for what seest thou?" (1 Sam. xxviii. 13).^ Some say:
Many righteous men like (Samuel) came up with him in
that hour.*
Rabbi Eliezer said : All the dead will arise at the
resurrection of the dead, dressed in their shrouds.^ Know
thou that this is the case. Come and see from (the
analogy of) the one who plants (seed) in the earth. He
plants naked ^ (seeds) || and they arise covered with many
coverings ; and the people who descend into the earth
dressed (with their garments), will they not rise up dressed
(with their garments) ? ^ Not only this, but come and see
from Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who went down into
the fiery furnace dressed in their garments,^ as it is said,®
" And the satraps . . . being gathered together, saw these
men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies . . .
neither were their hosen changed " (Dan. iii. 27). Learn ^"
from Samuel, the prophet, who came up clothed with his
* See T.B. Chagigah, 4b, and cf. Ascension of Isaiah ix. 17.
^ Jalkut, ii. § 140, adds that Samuel brought Moses with him. Think-
ing it was the great Day of the Last Judgment, Moses would testify
on behalf of Samuel ; see Midrash Samuel, loc. cit.
^ " For what dost thou see ? " is added by Luria.
* Perhaps this sentence is a gloss added by some copyist, taken
from Midrash Samuel or Lev. Rab., loc. cit.
^ The first editions read : " and they will ascend in their garments.
From what dost thou learn this ? " Luria reads : " When all the
dead arise," etc. On the analogy employed by our author, see
I Cor. XV. 36 ff., where the same thought occurs, and cf. T.B.
Kethuboth, iiib; T.B. Synhedrin, 96D ; and Jalkut, loc. cit., which
reads : " clothed in their shrouds."
* The first editions read : " From the seed in the earth, by an
inference a minori ad majus with reference to wheat. What happens
to the (seed of) wheat ? It is buried in a naked condition and it comes
forth."
' The first editions read : " how much more so will this apply
to the righteous who were buried with their garments." See i Cor.
XV. 42 ff. for a similar discussion. See Gen. Rab. xcvi. 6 ; T.B.
Sabbath, 114a; Semachoth ix. on the question as to whether the
garments used at the burial will be the garments of the resurrection.
* The first editions add : " and they came out in their garments,
as it is said, ' Nor was the hair of their head singed ' " (Dan. iii. 27).
* See T.B. Synhedrin, 92b ; and Sepher Chassidim, § 11 29.
^° The first editions read : " And again, from whom canst thou
learn this."
246 RABBI EIJEZER
robe, as it is said, " And she said, An old man cometh up ;
and he is covered with a robe " (1 Sam. xxviii. 14).
Rabbi Jochanan ^ said : All the prophets prophesied
in their lifetime, and Samuel prophesied in his lifetime,
and after his death, because Samuel said to Saul : If thou
wilt hearken to my advice to fall by the sword, then
shall thy death be an atonement for thee,^ and thy
lot ^ shall be with me in the place where I abide.'' Saul
barkened to his advice, and fell by the sword, he and all
his sons,"* as it is said, " So Saul died, and his three
sons " {ibid. xxxi. 6). Why ? So that his portion might
be with Samuel the prophet in the future life, as it is
said, " And to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with
me " {ibid, xxviii. 19). What is the meaning of " Avith
me " ? Rabbi Jochanan said : With me in mv division in
heaven.^
Hillel, the Elder, said : Samuel spake to Saul, saying, Was
it not enough for thee that thou didst not hearken || unto
His voice, neither didst thou execute His fierce anger upon
Amalek, ' but thou dost also inquire ^ through one possessed
of a familiar spirit,^ and thou seekest (to know the future).
Woe is the shepherd, and woe is his flock ! For on thy
account has the Holy One, blessed be He, given Israel thy
people into the hands of the Philistines, as it is said, " More-
over, the Lord will deliver Israel also with thee into the hand
of the Philistines " {ibid.).
* The first editions read : " Nathan."
* Death as an atonement is discussed by Schechter, Aspects,
pp. 304, 307 f. See also T.B. Synhedrin, 44b, on this theme.
^ See Dan. xii. 13 for a parallel expression.
* See Midrash Samuel, loc. cit. ; and compare the words which are
said to have been spoken by the Founder of Christianity to the penitent
thief, Luke xxiii. 43.
* The text quoted in support of this continues : " and his
armour-bearer, and all his men." In i Chron. x. 6 the reading is :
" So Saul died, and his three sons ; and all his house died
together." The Targum to this passage renders " his house " by
" the men of his house." The first editions read : " he and all his
house."
* See Lev. Rab., loc. cit., and T.B. Berakhoth, 12b, which is
probably the source of the Midrash, and cf. Midra'-li Samud x.
' See infra, ]>. 3S8.
* Lit. " to inquire through one possessed of a familiar spirit and
to seek." The first editions read : " Thou art come to inquire for
thyself through one possessed of a familiar spirit."
* See Gesenius (Oxford edition), s.v. 3iw.
ELISHA AND THE SHUNAMMITE 247
Rabbi Tachanah ^ said : Israel was exiled ^ to Babylon,
and did not forsake their evil deeds. Ahab, son of Kolaiah,
and Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah,^ became lying healers,'*
and they healed the wives of the Chaldeans, and came unto
them for coition.^ The king heard thereof, and commanded
that they should be burnt. They both said : Let us say
that Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, was with us, and he will
save ^ us from the burning with fire. They said to him : O
our lord, O king, this man was with us in every matter.
The king commanded that the three should be burnt by fire.
And the angel Michael ^ descended and saved Joshua from
the fiery flames, and brought him up before the throne of
glory, as it is said, " And he shewed me Joshua,^ the
high priest" (Zech. iii. 1); and the other two were burnt
by fire, as it is said, " And of them shall be taken up
a curse. . . . The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like
Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire "
(Jer. xxix. 22). It is not written here " whom the king
of Babylon burnt with fire," but " whom he roasted," ^
hence we learn || that his ^° hairs were singed on account
of their sins, as it is said, " In the pride of the wicked
the poor is hotly pursued " (Ps. x. 2). Whence do we
know that he was delivered ? Because it is said, " And
the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O
Satan. ... Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ? "
(Zech. iii. 2).
Rabbi Jehudah said : When Nebuchadnezzar brought a
1 The first editions read " Jochanan." This is also the reading in
the Jalkut Makhiri on Zech. iii. i, p. 35 (ed. Greenup).
^ The first editions read " went up." This story is one of the
versions of the Susanna narrative ; see BriiU's Jahrhucher, iii. pp. 8 fi'.,
where Origen is quoted, who knew the story and refers to Zedekiah
and Ahab.
^ See Jer. xxix. 21, 23.
* See T.B. Synhedrin, 93a ; Tanchuma, Vajikra, § vi. The incident
may be based on Job xiii. 4. Cf. Ezek. xiii. 6, and xxii. 28.
^ See also Jalkut ii. § 309 ; Pesikta de R. Kahana xxv. pp. 164b.
* See T.B. Chulhn, 7a. The first editions read : " Let Joshua,
the son of Jehozadak, a righteous man, come with us and we shall
be saved through his merit."
' Cf. Zohar, Gen. 104a.
* The MS. reads " Jehozadak " ; the verse is correctly quoted in
the first editions.
* Jalkut Makhiri, Zech., loc. cii., adds : " like these ears of corn he
roasted them." Is this part of the original text ?
1" i.e. Joshua's.
248 RABBI ELIEZER
false accusation ^ against Israel to slay them, he set up an
idol in the plain of Dura, and caused a herald to proclaim :
Any one who docs not bow down to this idol shall be burnt
by fire. Israel did not trust in the shadow - of their Creator,
and came with their wives and sons and bowed down to
the idolatrous image ^ — except Daniel, whom they called by
the name of their God,* and it would have been a disgrace
to them to burn him ^ in fire, as it is said, " But at the last
Daniel came in before me " ^ (Dan. iv. 8). And they took
Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and put them into the
fiery furnace, and the angel Gabriel ^ descended and saved
them from the fiery furnace.^ The king said to them : ^
Ye knew that ye had a God who saves and delivers ; why
have ye forsaken your God and worshipped idols which
have no power to deliver ? But just as ye did in your own
land and destroyed it, so do ye attempt to do in this land,
(namely) to destroy it. The king commanded, || and they
slew all of them. Whence do we know that they were all
slain by the sword ? Because it is said, " Then said he
unto me. Prophesy . . . O breath, and breathe upon these
slain, that they may live " (Ezek. xxxvii. 9).^"
Rabbi Phineas said : After twenty years, when all of
them had been slain in Babylon,^^ the Holy Spirit rested upon
* Lit. " wantonness of words " ; baseless charges. Cf. Deut. xxii. 14.
17-
^ See supra, p. 62, for this expression.
^ See T.B. Megillah, 12a ; Cant. Rab. vii. 6. The image is discussed
in T.B. Berakhoth, 58b.
* See Luria's reading. Daniel was called Belteshazzar. " Bel "
is, of course, a name of a Babylonian image or god.
^ i.e. Daniel.
* The verse continues : " whose name was Belteshazzar, according
to the name of my God."
' In Jalkut, on Ezek. xxxvii. § 375, the reading is Michael ; see Gen.
Rab. xhv. 13. Our reading agrees with T.B. Pesachim, ii8a ; Pesikta
Rabbathi, p. i6ob ; Ex. Rab. xviii. 5 ; and see Jalkut on Dan., in loc,
and T.B. Synhedrin, 95b. It is noteworthy that Daniel is not men-
tioned here ; he was therefore not cast into the fiirnace.
* See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 55, note 1.
* The Hebrews who had worshipped his image.
" See Tanna de be Elijahu Rab. v. p. 24, and J.E. ix. 202 f.
" See T.B. Synhedrin, 92b, and Tanchuma, Noah, § x. : "On the day
when the three companions were delivered Ezekiel quickened the dead
in the valley of Dura." See Pal. Targum, Ex. xiii. 17, on the sons of
Ephraim, who were slain for attempting to leave Egypt before the
appointed time. See also Shibbole Ha-Leket, 219. According to one
authority in T.B. Synhedrin, loc. cit., " the whole incident was indeed a
parable."
ELISHA AND THE SHUNAMMITE 249
Ezekiel, and brought him forth into the plain of Dura, and
called unto him very dry bones, and said to him : Son of
Man ! What dost thou see ? He answered : I see here
dry bones. (The Spirit) said to him : Have I power to
revive them ? The prophet did not say : i Sovereign of
all the worlds ! Thou hast power to do even more than
(this) here ; but he said : " O Lord God, thou knowest "
{ibid. 3), as though he did not believe ; ^ therefore his own
bones were not buried in a pure land,^ but in an unclean
land, as it is said, "And thou shalt die in a land that is
unclean " (Amos vii. 17).'' " Prophesy over these bones "
(Ezek. xxxvii. 4). He said before Him : Sovereign of all the
worlds ! What ! will the prophecy bring upon them flesh
and sinews and bones ? ^ Or will the prophecy bring upon
them all the flesh and bones which cattle, beast, and bird
have eaten, and they (also) have died in the land ? ^ Im-
mediately the Holy One, blessed be He, caused His voice
to be heard, and the earth shook, as it is said, " And as I
prophesied there was a thundering, and behold an earth-
quake " {ibid. 7), II and every animal, beast, and bird which
had eaten thereof and died in another land ^ the earth
brought together, " bone to his bone " {ibid.y
Rabbi Joshua ben Korchah said : There came down
upon them the quickening dew ^ from heaven, which was
* The first editions omit the negative. The later editions {e.g.
Amsterdam and Prague) read : " he should have said."
2 See Gen. Rab. xix. ii ; Zohar, Num. 200a ; Jalkut, Kings, § 244.
* i.e. the land of Israel.
■•This quotation from Amos is very strange, inasmuch as it is
applied to Ezekiel as a prophecy concerning his burial. Moreover,
the prophet refers to death, which might be quite distinct from the
burial of the prophet. See Tanna de be Elijahu Rab., loc. cit., and cf.
/.£■. V. 315 f., for further parallels to this story.
^ Read here " skin," as in the text of Ezek. xxxvii. 8.
* The first editions read : " in another land." This is probably
the correct reading, as it occurs again in this section, and, therefore,
what was missing would have to be miraculously restored by God.
The prophet had his doubts as to whether this would or could be
accomplished. Interesting parallels to this discussion are to be found
in the writings of the Church Fathers ; see Athenagoras, " Resurrection
of the Dead," ch. iv., and Tertullian, mentioned infra, p. 251, note.
^ The words from " every animal " till " another land " occur only
in our MS.
8 See Jalkut, Ezek. § 375: "He caused His voice to be heard
from between the two Cherubim " ; see supra, p. 228, and cf. Ps.
xcix. I.
* See infra, p. 260.
250 RABBI ELIEZER
like a fountain/ which was bubbling and bringing forth
water; so likewise (the bones) were moving and bringing
forth upon themselves flesh, (other) bones ^ and sinews, as
it is said, " And I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon
them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above "
{ibid. 8). He said to him : Prophesy imto the wind, as it
is said, " Then said he unto me. Prophesy unto ^ the wind.
. . . Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain, that they may live " {ibid. 9). In that
hour the four winds of the heaven went forth, and opened
the treasure-house of the souls, and each spirit returned to
the body of flesh of man, as it is said, " So I prophesied
as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and
they lived, ... an exceeding great army" {ibid. 10); and it
is written about Egypt, " And the children of Israel were
fruitful, . . . and waxed exceeding mighty " (Ex. i. 7).
What is the meaning of " exceeding " ? Just as in the latter
case there were 600,000 (men), so in the former case there
were 600,000 (men), and they all stood upon their feet except
one man. The prophet said : Sovereign of all the worlds !
What is the nature of this man ? He answered him : He
gave out money for usury,* and he took with interest. || As
I live, he shall not live. In that hour the Israelites were
sitting and weeping, and saying : We hoped for light, and
darkness came. We hoped to stand up with all Israel at
the resurrection of the dead, and now " our hope is lost "
(Ezek. xxxvii. 11). We hoped to arise so as to be gathered
with all Israel, and now " we are clean cut off " {ibid.). In
that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the prophet :
Therefore, say to them. As I live, I will cause you to stand
at the resurrection of the dead in the future that is to
come, and I will gather you with all Israel ^ to the land, as
* This is also the reading in Jalkut. Ezekiel, loc. cit.
-Instead of "bones" we should probably read "skin"; see
supra, p. 240, note 5.
3 The MS. reads incorrectly " against."
* See Jalkut on Ezekiel, loc. cit., which reads : " And he took usury
and he shall not Uve (eternally)." This is based on Ezek. xviii. S.
See Ex. Rab. xxxi. 3, and see Tosaphoth T.B. Baba Mezi'a, yob, catch-
word, "Thou mayest lend"; cf. Pal. Targum. i;x. xiii. 17. See also
Tosaphoth Sotali, 5a.
* The Venice edition reads here : " for the ingathering of the
exiles to the land of Israel." On the vision in Ezek. xxxvii. see Cant.
Rab. vii. 9. Maimonides, Moreh Nebukhim, ii. 4G, regarded the
ELTSHA AND THE SHUNAMMITE 251
it is said, " Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you
to come up out of your graves . . . and I will bring you
into the land of Israel. . . . And I will put my spirit in
you, and ye shall live" {ibid. 12, 14).
"resurrection" as a prophetic vision; see T.B. Synhedrin, /or. cit.,
for the Talmudic account. The doubt of Ezekiel is noted by Tertulhan,
On the Resurrection of the Flesh, xxx. In this passage the Church
Father interprets the vision in a Uteral sense, rejecting the allegorical
meaning which was given to the vision in his day. Justin Martyr
[First Apology, Hi.) refers to this prophecy as pointing to the
resurrection to be brought about by the Christian Messiah at his
second coming ; his words are : " By Ezekiel the prophet it was said :
' Joint shall be joined to joint, and bone to bone, and flesh shall
grow again ; and every knee shall bow to the Lord, and every tongue
shall confess Him ' " (Ezek. xxxvii. 7, 8, and Isa. xlv. 23). This may
serve as a fair illustration of the method of quoting the Hebrew
Scriptures by the Church Fathers.
CHAPTER XXXIV
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD [43b. ii.]
" See now that I, even I, am he,^ and there is no God
with me " (Deut. xxxii. 39). Only the Holy One, blessed
be He, said : " / am " in this world, and " / am " in the
world to come ; / am, the one who redeemed Israel from
Egypt, and I am the one who, in the future, will redeem
them at the end of the fourth kingdom ; therefore it is said,
" I, even I, am he, and there is no God with me " {ibid.).
Every nation who say that there is a second God, I will
slay them as with a second death ^ || which has no resurrection ;
and every nation who say that there is no second God, I
^vill quicken them for the eternal life. And in the future I
will slay those (first mentioned) and quicken these, therefore
it is said, " I kill, and I make alive " (ibid.). I have
wounded ^ Jerusalem and her people on the day of My anger,
and in great mercy * I will heal them,'' therefore it is said,
" I have wounded, and I will heal " {ibid.). Neither any angel
nor any seraph ^ will deliver the wicked from the judgment
of Gehinnom, as it is said, " And there is none that can
deliver out of my hand " {ibid.).
Rabbi Jochanan ^ said : All the dead will arise at the
1 In the MS. the quotation ends here, in the first editions the verse
is continued and the first editions add : " What purpose has the text in
saying twice ' I, even I ' ? " See Pal. Targum, h: loc, and Othijoth de R.
"Akiba (B.H.M. iii. p. i"), letter n : " I was before the world, and I am
after the world." See also T.B. Berakhoth, 9b, Jalkut, Diut. § 041',. and
cf. Methodius, " On the Resurrection," v. (A.N.C.L. xiv. p. 141).
2 This is based on Dan. xiii. 2. Cf. Rev. xx. (>, 14, xxi. 8, and see
Midrash Tannaim, ed. Hoffmann, p. 202, and Siphre, Deut. § 329.
3 God destroyed Jerusalem, and He will rebuild it; cf. Lam. i. 17.
* Cf. Isa. liv. 7, II f., and Jer. xxxiii. 6. q.
^ See Isa. xxx. 26, and cf. Shochcr Tob, Ps. cxlvii. (end).
« " ' I, even I,' says God, ' I will deliver them, I alone." "
^ The first editions read " Jonathan."
3$3
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 253
resurrection of the dead, except the generation of the Flood,^
as it is said, " The dead shall not live, the deceased (Re-
phaim) - shall not rise " (Isa. xxvi. 14). " The dead (who)
shall not live " refer to the heathens, who are like the carcase of
cattle ; ^ they shall arise for the day of judgment,^ yet they
shall not live ; but the men of the generation of the Flood,
even for the day of judgment they shall not arise, as it is
said, " The Rephaim shall not rise " (ibid.). All their souls
become winds,^ accursed, injuring ^ the sons of men, and
in the future world the Holy One, blessed be He, will destroy
them out of the world, so that they should not do harm to a
single Israelite, as it is said, " Therefore hast thou visited
and destroyed them,^ and made all their memory to perish "
(ibid.).^
Rabbi Zechariah said : The sleep at night is like this
world, and the awakening of the morning ^ is like the
world to come. And just as |1 in the sleep of the night a
man lies down and sleeps, and his spirit wanders over all
the earth, and tells him in a dream i" whatever happens, as it
is said, " In a dream, in a vision of the night . . . then he
openeth the ears of men " (Job xxxiii. 15, 16), Hkewise (with)
the dead, their spirit wanders over all the earth, and tells
them all things ^^ that happen in the world, but they are silent
and (yet) they give song and praise to God, who will quicken
them in the future, as it is said, " Let the saints exult
in glory " ^'^ (Ps. cxiix. 5). The awakening in the morning
1 Cf. T.B. Synhedrin, 107b, and Aboth de Rabbi Nathan (a) xxxvi.
pp. 53b a.
2 The Rephaim (giants) are the men of the generation of the Flood.
See supra, pp. 160 f., 167, and Gen. Rab. xxxi. 12.
^ i.e. doomed to destruction. Cf. the directions laid down for the
conduct of Christians towards heathens, in Clement, "Two Epistles con-
cerning Virginity," vi. (A.N.C.L. xiv. pp. 387f.). See supra, -p. 208, n. 7,
* In the Messianic age, or, rather, at the close of the reign of Messiah.
^ Or, " spirits who injure."
* Or, " Demons unto man "; see Jalkut, Isa. in loc.
' The quotation ends here in the MS., it is continued in the first
editions.
* See Zohar, Gen. 25b.
» This is based on Isa. xxvi. 19. Cf. Hippolytus (ed. Achelis),
p. 107.
1" See Eccles. x. 20, and see Midrash Rab. thereon ; cf. T.B. Berak-
hoth, 1 8b, Gen. Rab. xiv. 9, and supra, p. 87.
'^ This is also the reading of the Venice edition.
12 Even in the grave the saints continue to glorify God. See Ps.
cxlix. 5 ; Jalkut, i Kings, § 169 ; and Shocher Tob on Ps. xxx. p. 117b.
254 RABBI ELIEZER
is like the future world. A parable ^ — unto what is the
matter to be likened ? To a man who awakens out of his
sleep, in like manner will the dead awaken in the future
world, as it is said, " O satisfy us in the morning with thy
loving-kindness " - {ibid. xc. 14).
The voices of five (objects of creation) ^ go from one
end of the world to the other, and their voices are inaudible.*
When people cut down the wood of the tree ^ which yields
fruit, its cry goes from one end of the world to the other,
and the voice is inaudible. When the serpent sloughs off
its skin,*^ its cry goes from one end of the world to the other
and its voice is not heard." When a woman is divorced
from her husband,** her voice goeth forth from one end of
the world to the other, but the voice is inaudible.^ When
the infant || comes forth from its mother's^" womb.^^ When
the soul departs from the body,^- the cry goes forth from one
end of the world to the other, and the voice is not heard.
The soul does not go out of the body until it beholds the
Shekhinah, as it is said, " For man shall not sec me and
live " (Ex. xxxiii. 20).i3
^ The parable is only found in our MS. Cf. i Cor. xv. 20, 51 ;
I Thess. iv. 14 ; and Eph. v. 14.
^ The verse continues : " and let us sing and rejoice all our day.-'."
See Jalkut Makhiri on Ps. xc. p. 44a; T.B. Berakhoth, i8b. "The
wicked sleep the eternal sleep, never to awaken in the future." Cf. Jer.
li. 30 and Targum, in loc.
^ Brodc and Luria read " six." In fact there are " six " cases
enumerated according to the t&yit of the first printed editions. The
MS. has five instances only.
* See T.B. Joma, 20b, where four examples only are given. Jalkut,
I'salms, § 743, has used our author. See Gen. Rab. vi. 7. The first edi-
tions add : " and they are."
* This maj' be based on Deut. xx. 19. See also Jer. xlvi. 22 and
Targum thereon.
® See supra, p. 99, Gen. Rab. xx. 5. Cf. The Baraitha of the 32
Middoth, No. 14, ed. Reifmaun, pp. 33!.
^ The first editions omit : " The voice goeth forth from one end of
the world to the other." It occurs in the Amsterdam edition. Cf. J':^r.
xlvi. 22.
® See Mai. ii. 14-16.
* The first editions add : " When a wife is with her husband at the
first coition, her voice goeth forth from one end of the world to the
other, but the voice is inaudible."
1" Sec Isa. xxvi. 17, and xlii. 14 ; T.B. Joma, loc. cit., and Lev.
Rab. xxvii. 7.
" The first editions add : " the cry goeth forth from one end of the
world to the other, and the voice is not heard."
'- See T.B. Joma, loc. cit.
'' See Siphre, Num. § 103 ; Siphra (beg.), and infra, p. 430.
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 255
Rabbi Ze'era^ said: All the souls go forth and are
gathered, each man's soul to the generation of his fathers
and to his people.^ The righteous with the righteous,^ and
the wicked with the wicked, for thus spake the Holy One,
blessed be He, to Abraham : " But thou shalt go to thy
fathers in peace " (Gen. xv. 15).* And when the soul goes
forth from the body,^ then the righteous come to meet
them,^ and say to them : Come unto peace ! One verse
says, " Therefore, behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers,
and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace " (2 Kings
xxii. 20).^
Rab Huna * said : All Israel ^ who die outside the
land (of Israel), their souls ^" are gathered into the land
(of Israel), as it is said, " Yet the soul of my lord shall
be bound in the bundle of the living " ^^ (1 Sam. xxv. 29).
All the heathens who die ^- in the land of Israel have their
souls cast outside the land (of IsraeP^), as it is said, " And
the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from
the hollow of a sling " (ibid.), (even) beyond the land (of
Israel).
In the future world the Holy One, blessed be He, will
1 The first editions read '"Azariah."
2 Death reunites, whereas in hfe separation and dispersion are
frequent experiences. See Ps. xUx. ig.
^ See Jalkut, Gen. § 77, and Eccles. Rab. to Eccles. iii. 9.
* The first editions read here : " When the soul goes forth from the
body, is this peace ? But the angels come to meet (it) and say to it :
Peace, as it is said : ' He entereth into peace ; they rest in their beds '
(Isa. Ivii. 2). Another verse says: 'Thou shalt be gathered to thy
grave in peace ' " (2 Kings xxii. 20).
* Luria suggests that the text should read : " What is the peace ? "
(Is there any peace for the body when the soul leaves it ?) See also
T.B. Sabbath, 152b. See the Book of the Bee Ivi. pp. 131 ff. for a
parallel to our text.
* i.e. the souls. See Rokeach, 313, which has used P.R.E. ; the read-
ing here is: " The righteous come before the souls." See also T.B.
Kethuboth, 104a, and Num. Rab. xi. 7.
'' Cf. 2 Chron. xxxiv. 28. Our MS. has omitted part of the verse,
the first editions read the latter part only.
* The first editions read " Rabbi Chanina."
* The later editions read : " All the righteous."
1" Immediately after death.
11 The land of the living is the Holy Land ; when David was an exile
from the Holy Land he cries that he cannot worship God. See i Sam.
xxvi. 19.
1^ Some of the later editions read : " All the dead (bodies) of the
wicked." The Amsterdam and Prague editions read : " All the dead
(bodies) of the idolaters."
'3 This is the reading of the Amsterdam and Prague editions.
256 RABBI ELIEZER
take hold of the corners of the land of Israel, and shake it
(free) from all unclean (things),^ as it is said, " That it might
take hold of the ends of the earth,- and the wicked be shaken
out of it " (Job xxxviii. 13).
A man has three friends |i in his lifetime, and they are : his
sons and his household,^ his money, and his good deeds.
At the hour of a man's departure from the world he gathers
his sons and his household, and he says to them : I beg of you
to come and save me from the judgment of this evil death.*
They answer him, saying to him : Hast thou not heard
that there is no one who can prevail over the day of death ?
and is it not written thus, " None of them can by any means
redeem his brother " (Ps. xhx. 7) ? ^ " For the redemption of
their soul is costly " ^ {ibid. 8). And he has his money fetched,
and says to it : ' I beseech thee, save me from the judgment of
this evil death. It answers him, saying : Hast thou not
1 The first editions add : " like a man shakes a garment and casts
out all that is therein and throws this away."
2 In the MS. the quotation ends here ; it is continued in the first
editions.
3 Cf. Aboth vi. 9, Jalkut, Isa. § 494 ; Jalkut, Ps. § 834, reads
" household." Bachja in Kad Ha-Kemach. s.v. Sax, pp. i2a-b,
quotes P.R.E. and reads : " his wife and his sons." The latter
reading is to be found in the first editions. Cf . also Menorath Ha-.Maor,
278. See Israel Levi's article on this passage in R.E.J, xviii.
pp. 83 ff., where he discusses the influence of " Barlaam and Josaphat "
in this parable. " Barlaam and Josaphat " was written in the seventh
century probably, and was known to the author of P.R.E. in its Greek
or Arabic or Syrian version. See also Geiger, Was hat Mohammed, etc.,
p. 93, and J.E. ii. pp. ^^(yi.
* This is an explanation of Ps. xlix. 5, "Why should I fear in the
days of evil ? " (i.e. death).
* " The first editions read here : " Even his money which he loves
cannot redeem him, as it is said : ' Nor give to God a ransom for him '
(Ps. xlix. 7). Why?"
« Siphre, Deut. § 329, says : "If they give to Him all the money in the
world they would not be able to give Him his ransom." The first
editions add here the following : " And this thing must be let alone ' for
ever' (P.-. xlix. 8). but go towards peace and rest on thy couch, and
stand for thy lot at the end of days, and may thy lot be with the pious
of the world.' When he sees (things) in this way." -
' The first editions add : " For thee have I toiled very much by
night and by day." See Eccles. v. 10-15 on the folly of heaping up
wealth.
1 Note here the universalism of this wish. The pious of the
world, not merely the pious of Israel, are the denizens of Paradise.
On the " pious of the world," see Toscphta Synhedrin xiii. p. 43 t- The
latter pnrt of the paragraph is based on Dan. xii. 13.
* How his family are powerless to help him.
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 257
heard, " Riches profit not in the day of wrath " ^ (Prov.
xi. 4) ? He (then) has his good deeds fetched, and he
says to them : I beseech you, come and deHver me from
the judgment of this evil death, ^ And they answer him
and say to him : ^ Before thou goest, verily, we will go
in advance of thee, as it is said, " And charity delivereth
from death " (ibid.). Does then charity deliver from
death? (This refers) to an evil death only. Another
Scripture says, " And thy righteousness shall go before
thee,^ the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward " (Isa.
Iviii. 8).5
All the seven days of mourning the soul goeth forth
and returneth from its (former) home to its sepulchral
abode, and from its sepulchral abode to its (former) home.^
After the seven days of mourning the body !| begins to breed
worms,' and it decays and returns to the dust,^ as it originally
was, as it is said, " And the dust returns to the earth as it
was " ^ (Eccles. xii. 7). The soul goes forth and returns to
the place whence it was given, from heaven, as it is said, "And
the soul 1° returns unto God who gave it " (ibid.). And whence
do we learn that the soul has been given from heaven ? ^^
Come and see. When the Holy One, blessed be He, formed
' i.e. the day of death. The text might be rendered " the day of
passing away " (from this life). Cf. Eccles. viii. 8.
* The first editions add here : " and strengthen yourselves with me/
and do not leave me to depart from the world, for ye still have hope
for me that I may be saved." *
* The first editions add : " Go towards peace."
* The quotation ends here in the MS., it is continued in the first
editions.
^ In Jalkut, Isa. loc. cit., the verse: "And righteousness delivereth
from death" (Prov. x. 2) is quoted. This is also to be found in the
Kad Ha-Kemach, loc. cit.
® This sentence is omitted in the printed editions. See 4 Ezra vii. 3 1 .
'' See Rokeach, 313, based upon our author; cf. T.B. Sabbath, 152a,
and T.J. Mo'ed Katan iii. 5. 82b.
8 See T.B. Niddali, 69b, and T.B. Sabbath, 152b. The return to
dust is considerably later than the first seven days after death.
^ The next sentence is not found in the printed editions.
10 The MS. text does not agree with the M.T. " Nephesh," which
we have rendered soul, should be " ruach," spirit.
" i.e. by God.
1 Because all my relatives and friends have forsaken me. For the
phraseology, cf. Dan. x. 19.
2 The next verse (9) in Ps. xlix. says : " and let him live for ever."
This is the petition of one's good deeds, the only true and lasting friend
of man.
17
258 RABBI ELIEZER
man, he did not have in him the spirit.^ What did the Holy
One, blessed be He, do ? He breathed with the spirit of
the breath of His mouth, and cast a soul - into him, as it
is said, " And he brcatlicd into his nostrils the breath of
life " (Gen. ii. ly
Rabbi Ishmael * said : All the bodies crumble ^ into
the dust of the earth, until nothing remains of the body
except a spoonful of earthy matter.^ In the futvire life,
when the Holy One, blessed be He, calls" to the earth to
return all the bodies deposited with it.'* that which had become
mixed with the dust of the earth, like the yeast which is
mixed with the dough, improves and increases, and it raises
up all the body.^ When the Holy One, blessed be He, calls
to the earth to return all the bodies deposited with it, that
which has become mixed with the dust of the earth, im-
proves and increases and raises up all the body without
water.i" Forthwith the earth quakes and the mountains
tremble,^^ and the graves are opened,^- and the stones of the
graves are scattered about one from the other, as it is said,
" And the Lord God shall save them || in that day as the
flock of his people : ^^ for they shall be as the stones of a
crown, Hfted on high over his land " (Zech. ix. 16).
Rabbi Azariah said : All the souls are in the hands of
1 The first editions read : " the spirit of the soul." See supra.
p. 78, n. 2. Cf. Tertullian, On the Resurrection, v.
2 Or, " breath."
3 The breath of life came from God and returns to Him.
* The first editions read " Simeon."
" Read pyi:3, and cf. supra, p. yj.
* Or, " rottenness." See T.J. Nazir vii. 2, 56b, and Lev. Rab. xviii. i.
The Venice edition adds here : " And it becomes mixed with the dust
of the earth like yeast, which is mixed with the dough."
' The Voice of God will usher in the resurrection, see supra,
p. 249 ; see also Othijoth de R. 'Akiba; B.H.M. iii. p. 60. Cf. 4 Ezra
vii. 32 ; .-Kpoc. Baruch xi. 4 ; i Thess. iv. 13, i ; ; and 2 Pet. iii. 4.
* Cf . infra, p. 335. The earth holds the bodies until the resur-
rection. The day of death is called the " day of Account " (Isa. x. 3) ;
cf. Num. xvi. 29, " the visiting of every man."
* The first edition adds: "without water." This became in the
Venice edition : " \vithout a blemish." See T.B. Synhedrin, 91a, and
Gen. Rab. xcv. i.
i<* This sentence is not in the printed texts. It is practically a
repetition of the previous sentence. The first editions read instead :
" like the leaven which improves and increases the dough."
" See T.B. Sotah, 36b. See .\rabic version of 4 Fzra vii. 32 (ed.
Box, p. 119).
12 See Ezek. xxxvii. 13.
13 In the MS. the quotation ends here.
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD 259
the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said, " In whose hand
is the soul of every living thing " ^ (Job xii. 10). A parable
— to what is the matter like ? To a person who was going
in the market with the key of his house in his hand. As long
as the key is in his hand, all his money is in his hand. Like-
wise the Holy One, blessed be He, has the key of the graves,^
and the key of the treasure-houses of the souls ; ^ and He
will restore every spirit to the body of flesh of man, as it is
said, " Thou sendest forth thy spirit,* they are created ; ^
and thou renewest the face of the ground " ^ (Ps. civ. 30).
The soul is like its Creator.^ Just as the Holy One,
blessed be He, sees and is not visible, so the soul sees and is
not visible.^ Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, has no
sleep in His presence,^ so the soul does not sleep.i" Just as
the Holy One, blessed be He, bears His world,ii so the soul
bears all the body.i- All souls are His, as it is said, " Behold,
all souls are mine " (Ezek. xviii. 4).
Rabbi Jehudah said : From the day when the Temple was
destroyed, the land (of Israel) is broken down on account of
the wickedness of those who dwell therein ; like a man who is
sick and has no power to stand, so is the land broken down and
is without power to yield her fruits, as it is said, " The earth
also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof" (Isa. xxiv. 5).^^
In the future life the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause
^ After death. The parable illustrates this idea. This does not
agree with the interpretation given in Siphre, Num. § 139, quoted in
Jalkut on Job, in loc.
2 SeeT.B.Taanith2b, "Fori am the Lord, when I open your graves."
* The first editions add here: "In the future life the Holy One,
blessed be He, will open the graves, and He will open the treasure-
houses of the souls." See 4 Ezra iv. 35, vii. 32 ; T.B. Chagigah, 12b ;
and Siphre Dent, § 344.
* Thereby reviving the spirit of man. Cf. Athenagoras, Resurrection
of the Dead, xxv.
* In the MS. and the first editions the quotation ends here.
* The earth will be renewed after the resurrection.
' Luria adds : if one may so without irreverence." On this ex-
pression, see Bacher, Terminologie, i. pp. 72 f.
® See T.B. Berakhoth, loa, and Deut. Rab. ii. 37, where six
points of similarity are enumerated ; cf. Lw. Rab. iv. 8. On God's
seeing, cf. Jer. xxiii. 24 ; on God's invisibility, see Ex. xxxiii. 20 and
Isa. xlv. 15. See similar theories in TertuUiau, de Anima, xlv. ; and
Methodius, Banquet, vi. i.
* See Ps. cxxi. 4 ; and Gen. Rab. xiv. 9.
^0 See supra, p. 86.
^1 See Isa. xlvi. 4.
12 Cf. Luria's reading.
1^ See the earlier part of the verse.
260 RABBI ELIEZER
the reviving dew to descend, and He will quicken the dead
and renew all things, as it is said, " Thy dead shall live "
{ihid. xxvi. 19). They are the Israelites, who died trusting
in His name. || ''My dead bodies shall arise" {ihid.). They
are the heathens, who are like the carcase of the beast : ^ they
shall arise for the day of judgment, but they shall not live.
" Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust " {ihid.). They
are the righteous, for they dwell - in the dust. " For thy dew
is as the dew of light " {ibid.). The dew of the righteous
is not the dew of darkness,^ but (it is) the dew of light, as it
is said, " For thy dew is as the dew of hght " {ihid.) ; and it
gives healing to the earth, as it is said, " And the earth shall
cast forth the dead " * {ihid.). And what is the meaning of
" And the earth shall cast forth the dead " ? ^
Rabbi Tanchum said ^ : On account of the seed of the
earth, when it is commanded, (it) discharges the dew for
the resurrection of the dead.'' From what place does it
descend ? From the head of the Holy One, blessed be
He ; for the head of the Holy One, blessed be He, is full of
the reviving dew. In the future life the Holy One, blessed
be He, will shake His head ^ and ^ cause the quickening dew
to descend,^" as it is said, " I was asleep,!^ but my heart
waked ^- . . . for my head is filled with dew, my locks with
the drops of the night " (Cant. v. 2).
*A similar statement occurs in Tertiillian, On the Resurrection,
A.N.C.L. XV. p. 311.
^ The righteous dead are called " living." See T.B. Sotah, 5a. and
T.B. Berakhoth, i8a. Cf. 4 Ezra vii. 3^, 36, 61 to illustrate the pre-
ceding part of the paragraph.
3 The dew of nature descends at night (see Job xxix. 19), and is
called " the dew of darkness." There is also " the dew of light,"
which is the heavenly or spiritual dew.
* Rephaim ; the root of this word means " to heal." See Cant. Rab.
on Cant. v. 2.
6 The first editions read : " What is the meaning of ' it giveth healing
to the earth ' ? "
* This is probably a gloss, copied from T.J. Berakhoth v. 2. 9b.
It is only this sentence which belongs to Rabbi Tanchum. Perhaps
the saying is merely that the earth will disgorge the dead entrusted
to its keeping.
' See Luria's reading, and Jalkut, i Kings, § 207.
* See Zohar, Gen. 130a, and Singer, p. 79, for the "dew of light,"
based on Isa. xxvi. 19.
» See Luria's reading.
10 The first editions add : " and He will revive the dead."
" The righteous sleeps in death, but his heart is ever awake ; his
soul is fed by the Divine dew which will effect the resurrection.
^^ The quotation ends here in our MS.
CHAPTER XXXV
THE VISION OF JACOB AT BETHEL [45b i.]
" Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof "
(Eccles. vii. 8). The first blessings wherewith Isaac blessed
Jacob were concerning the dews of heaven, and concerning
the corn of the earth,i as it is said, " And God give thee of
the dew of heaven,^ and of the fatness of the earth " (Gen.
xxvii. 28). The final blessings were the blessings of the
foundation of the world, and in them there is no (interriiption),^
either in this world or in the world to come, as it is said,
" And God Almighty bless thee " (ibid, xxviii. 3). And he
further added unto him the blessing of Abraham, || as it is
said, " And may he give thee the blessing of Abraham,* to
thee and to thy seed with thee " ^ {ibid. 4). Therefore (say) ^ :
" Better is the end of a thing ' than the beginning thereof "
(Eccles. vii. 8). " Better is the patient in spirit than the proud
in spirit" (ibid.).^ "Better is the patient in spirit" — this
(saying) is applicable » to our father Jacob, for every day
he was patient in spirit, and he spake all kinds of words of
1 i.e. material blessings of this earthly life.
2 In the MS. and the first editions the quotation ends here.
^ There is a lacuna in the MS. ; the space is just sufficient for the
word which occurs in the Oxford MS. or in the first editions, and which
means " interruption."
* In the MS. the quotation ends here ; it is continued in the first
editions.
* The verse continues : " that thou mayest inherit the land of
thy sojoumings."
* This occurs in the first editions, and is missing in the MS.
'' The reference is to the iinal blessing of Jacob. The blessings which
he received instead of Esau were but a cause of anguish and sorrow
to him as far as material benefits were concerned ; cf. Job viii. 7.
* The first editions read : " ' Better is slowness to anger than the
proud in spirit.' ' Better is slowness to anger,' this (saying)," etc. The
Oxford MS. agrees with our text.
* Read apv'a tidk.
26X
262 RABBI ELIEZER
entreaty.^ (The words) " than the proud in spirit " {ibid.)
refer to the wicked Esau, because every day he was eating
the flesh of that which he had hunted. Owing to his pride he
did not give any of his food to Jacob. Once he went out to
hunt but he did not meet with any success. He saw Jacob
eating lentil food, and he desired this in his heart, and he said
to him : " Let me gulp down, I pray thee, some of that red
pottage " (Gen. xxv. 30). Jacob said to him : Thou camest
forth red at thy birth from thy mother ; (now^ thou dost
desire to eat (this) red food ; therefore he called his name
" Edom " (red), as it is said, " And Esau said to Jacob "
(ibid.).
Rabbi Eliezer said : Lentils are the food of mourning ^ and
sorrow. Know thou that this is so, for when Ab 
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